Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 469 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,961 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 469 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.30. The firm has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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. 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 business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.