Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Has $305,000 Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,298 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,676,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $1.76 during trading on Monday, hitting $235.70. 270,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,219. The business’s 50 day moving average is $253.27 and its 200-day moving average is $245.86. The company has a market capitalization of $53.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.