Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,985 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern 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 cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $254.48 and a 200-day moving average of $240.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.