OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Trims Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 49.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,088 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 24,025 shares during the quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 4,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,259,874 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.75.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.7%

NSC opened at $294.41 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 41.19%.

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.