Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,506 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 16,317 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $64,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.87.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.