Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires New Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 638 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $159,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $1,676,000. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $13,627,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $267.45 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $195.76 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $60.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $252.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.05.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%. The company’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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.89.

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.