Czech National Bank Purchases 3,008 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.56.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $3.04 on Friday, hitting $247.92. 1,173,056 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,263,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.80 and its 200 day moving average is $237.18. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. 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. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. This represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.