TCW Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

TCW Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,975 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,469 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased 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 $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $248.31. 1,588,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,246,274. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $259.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.