Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,289 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 18,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,688,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 197.0% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,470 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $46,090,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $259.10 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $253.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.