Cadence Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cadence Bank cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,538 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $255.08 and a 200-day moving average of $240.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.