Pitcairn Co. Has $1.73 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,946 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,373,909 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $341,416,000 after buying an additional 19,394 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $268.95 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.90.

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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NSC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.