Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Bought by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up 1.0% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $18,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $613,255,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 550.6% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $251,712,000 after purchasing an additional 832,210 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $181,995,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 952,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $286,154,000 after buying an additional 459,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,497.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 428,750 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $109,747,000 after buying an additional 427,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $306.64 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $309.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.47.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. This represents a 38.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.