Tower Bridge Advisors Buys 900 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tower Bridge Advisors increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,256 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NSC opened at $261.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $205.70 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.