CHB Investment Group LLC Invests $231,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CHB Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 928 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $583,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. 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 shares were 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $250.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $247.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.