Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Has $5.25 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,128 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up 1.6% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 26,913 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,859,000 after purchasing an additional 7,938 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,008 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.9% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 21,088 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,375,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, 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 approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $261.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $252.99 and its 200 day moving average is $238.78. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $205.70 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.