Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,108 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $24,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 10,049 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 331,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $78,441,000 after purchasing an additional 17,178 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,272 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.56.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents 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 accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $247.92. 1,173,056 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,263,570. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.05. The company has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.