UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,023,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,965 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $254,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,840.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 355,152 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $88,255,000 after purchasing an additional 336,845 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,979 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,177,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $248,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $276.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $256.63 and its 200 day moving average is $241.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern 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.