AMG National Trust Bank Sells 15,657 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

AMG National Trust Bank cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,550 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 15,657 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $218,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $260,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 670,600 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $166,644,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.2% in the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 8,256 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,052,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.6% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 286,411 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $71,173,000 after buying an additional 27,561 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.93. 922,539 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,251,466. The company's 50 day moving average price is $253.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.27. The firm has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NSC. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.