Grandview Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,912 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $122,798,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE NSC opened at $237.48 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $53.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.06.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NSC. Bank of America boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

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.