Greenleaf Trust Has $1.36 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

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Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,508 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 435 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 98.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,465,118 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,469,455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,207,354 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,330,991 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $529,811,000 after acquiring an additional 557,432 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 620,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $141,011,000 after acquiring an additional 242,900 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 169.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 225,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $64,284,000 after purchasing an additional 141,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,232,610 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $280,161,000 after purchasing an additional 139,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James A. Squires sold 21,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.76, for a total value of $5,227,806.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,005.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director James A. Squires sold 21,272 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.76, for a total value of $5,227,806.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,001 shares in the company, valued at $246,005.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.35, for a total value of $516,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 30,158 shares in the company, valued at $7,791,319.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE NSC opened at $242.61 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $203.65 and a 12 month high of $291.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $249.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.88.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 25.66%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.68 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 2nd. This is an increase from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $256.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $273.00 to $266.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $218.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $178.00 to $177.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.86.

About Norfolk Southern

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which owns a freight railroad. It engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest and, via interchange with rail carriers to and from the rest of the United States.