Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Buys 58 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,704 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $264.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $252.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.46. The company has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $204.90 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.