Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,734 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $254.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased 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 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.

About Norfolk Southern

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.