Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 291 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up 0.9% of Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $813,554,000 after acquiring an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NSC stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $253.35. The stock had a trading volume of 46,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,744. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $248.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.88. The firm has a market cap of $57.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.76 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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