Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,373,909 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,394 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.61% of Norfolk Southern worth $341,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $268.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.