Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stake Lessened by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 15.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,380 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,130 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.85 on Monday. 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 $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 current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $256.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.57.

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders 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 was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.