Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC Cuts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,807 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Paragon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $220,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $159,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $62,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 68.2% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 2,324 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 332.0% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 31,594 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,851,000 after purchasing an additional 24,280 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

NSC stock opened at $271.11 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $195.76 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.83.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.