Swedbank AB Sells 262 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Swedbank AB lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $31,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $583,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other 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 approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $57.75 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $247.44 and a 200 day moving average of $236.78. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

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.