Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 954 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in 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 stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.38 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two 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 market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.87.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NSC. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

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.