Huntington National Bank Sells 647 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Huntington National Bank lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 647 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after buying an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.7 %

NSC opened at $264.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 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. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $204.90 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $252.52 and its 200 day moving average is $238.46.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.