Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,661 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $7,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $27,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $256.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $243.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.