Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Has $49.18 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 163,700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 55,600 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $49,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE NSC opened at $305.92 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $309.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $68.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares in the company, valued at $397,900.80. This represents a 38.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.