Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 263,506 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 16,317 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $64,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business'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 owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was 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 insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $0.71 on Thursday, reaching $275.38. The company had a trading volume of 626,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,665. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $255.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.87.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 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 issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.