Atria Investments Inc Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Atria Investments Inc lessened its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,711 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 47,410 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,242,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.7% in the third quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.9% during the third quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 59,680 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,928,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $2,430,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,900.80. This trade represents a 38.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

NSC stock opened at $315.13 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $293.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.00. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.