Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,832 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was 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.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $2.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $262.67. 173,522 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,251,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $205.70 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

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.