Barclays PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 453,087 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 222,637 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $112,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.6% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,714 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,646 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,234 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $9,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $192,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 576 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $256.08 on Wednesday. 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $258.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.10. The company has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.