889 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Bought by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 889 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd 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. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $255.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, 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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents 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 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.