Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 18,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,548,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 43.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,086 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.6% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 21,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,446,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,086 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $78,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were 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 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $268.95 on Monday. 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 market cap of $60.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $253.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.96. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The business 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio 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.