Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 93.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during 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. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.9% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,153 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’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 value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction 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 represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.5 %

NSC stock opened at $253.84 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $246.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.66. The company has a market cap of $57.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.88, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.