W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Grows Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,412 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $262.22 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. The firm has a market cap of $59.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.10. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern 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.