Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by BIP Wealth LLC

BIP Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,342 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 54.7% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $237,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $240,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Planning Directions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $259.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $253.14 and its 200-day moving average is $239.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.