Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,022 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $261.27 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $205.70 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $252.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern 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.