Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Holdings Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 670,600 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $166,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $261.26 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $252.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $205.70 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.