Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,858 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during 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 lifted its position 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 valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NSC opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. 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 company has a market capitalization of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $255.08 and its 200 day moving average is $240.63.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % 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 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.