Cadence Bank Lowers Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cadence Bank reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,538 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $255.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.63. The firm has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

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

About Norfolk Southern

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.