Holocene Advisors LP Purchases Shares of 494,156 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 494,156 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $122,798,000. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.22% of Norfolk Southern as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $275.85 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $256.63 and its 200 day moving average is $241.57. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. 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 results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 payout ratio is 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.