Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,979 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $275.85. The company had a trading volume of 655,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,299. The stock has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.50. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern 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.