Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $6.52 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,227 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after acquiring an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 37,386 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, 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 value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $250.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.29, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $246.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.77.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

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.