Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $2.85 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 21.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,450 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,141 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $3.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $261.26. 1,152,740 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,301,508. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.84. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $205.70 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 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, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.