Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 319 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 20.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,204 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 260.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,127 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,305,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 111.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $275.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $256.63 and a 200-day moving average of $241.50. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.