Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Position Increased by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 48.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $671,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target 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. One research 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $275.38 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $256.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.11. The stock has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’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 owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.