Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 6,300 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 458,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $113,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $264.29 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $59.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $253.44 and a 200 day moving average of $239.58.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

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.