Swedbank AB Sells 262 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Swedbank AB lessened its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $31,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. SVB Wealth LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 57.1% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 22,144 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,644,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $841,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,361 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 2,494 shares during the period. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was 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 insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $254.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.30. The company has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend 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.