Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 174 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,858 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE NSC opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.63.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.