Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stake Raised by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 21,093 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $35,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $967,340,000 after buying an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during 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 buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $260.78 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $59.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.88.

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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid 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 was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

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.