Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Buys 1,681 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,310 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.1 %

NSC opened at $264.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $253.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.58. 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 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $59.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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 bought at an average price 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 $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.