Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. cut its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 396 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises 1.8% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $16,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $261.26 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $252.99 and its 200-day moving average is $238.90. The stock has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $205.70 and a 1 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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’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 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.