Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 89 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,248 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.30. 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 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.