D.A. Davidson & CO. Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,883 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $557,000. Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $221,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $605,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 963,816 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $239,508,000 after acquiring an additional 15,577 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.38 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $255.60 and its 200-day moving average is $240.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern 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.