BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,696 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 5,567 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 45,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $218,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,023,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $254,396,000 after acquiring an additional 66,965 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 336,845 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $275.85 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $256.63 and its 200 day moving average is $241.57. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.