Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,256 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 10,593 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NSC. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $248.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,588,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,274. The stock's 50 day moving average is $259.13 and its 200 day moving average is $243.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.