Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $78,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,536,000. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 35,412 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,800,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 74.5% during the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction 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 $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $264.29 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $253.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.58.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.