Westfuller Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,047 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,047 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the second 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 grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE NSC opened at $261.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.84. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $205.70 and a 52 week high of $277.60. 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 stock has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

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.