Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,252 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $445,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Evanson Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.2% during the first quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,551 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $252.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.66. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.