BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 5,567 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,696 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 5,567 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NSC opened at $275.85 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $256.63 and its 200 day moving average is $241.57. The company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 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 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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.