B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Buys New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,207 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,536,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.1 %

NSC opened at $264.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.58.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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 was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.