UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,023,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,965 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Norfolk Southern worth $254,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1,840.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 355,152 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $88,255,000 after buying an additional 336,845 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,979 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 40.9% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $248,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $276.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $256.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.42. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $62.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction 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 represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.