Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,860 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 21,093 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $35,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 buying an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $207,830,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NSC traded down $3.93 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $256.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,445,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,934. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day moving average price is $258.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.88. 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 (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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.