Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $16.21 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,249 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,342 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $16,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Boston Partners increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in 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. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price target for the company. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 4.4 %

NSC traded up $10.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $259.07. The company had a trading volume of 884,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,957. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $58.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $248.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.