Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Biltmore Family Office LLC

Biltmore Family Office LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 24.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,076 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $264.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $253.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.58. The company has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.