National Bank of Canada FI Has $46.83 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,441 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 19,942 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $46,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,318,716,000 after purchasing an additional 196,249 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, 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 company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $3.93 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $256.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,445,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,934. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $258.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.10. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.