Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Has $8.47 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up 5.2% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $252.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $247.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.87. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $294.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.