HTLF Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HTLF Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,348 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. HTLF Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,440. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Citigroup began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $294.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

NSC stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $254.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,071,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,320. The firm has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.66. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.