Cinctive Capital Management LP Sells 62,808 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cinctive Capital Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 79.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,362 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 62,808 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the third 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. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.0 %

NSC stock traded down $2.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $270.08. The company had a trading volume of 311,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,072. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $256.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.57. The stock has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. 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 (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

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.