Bank of Montreal Can Has $64.95 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,506 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 16,317 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $64,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $221,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $605,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 963,816 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $239,508,000 after buying an additional 15,577 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 6.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,871,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $275.38 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.87. The company has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given 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 currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.