International Assets Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 23,037.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 347,634 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $86,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,440. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 3,700 shares of company stock worth $921,565. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $251.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $249.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.00. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.76 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.15%. 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.