Sameh Fahmy Acquires 350 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sameh Fahmy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 24th, Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NSC opened at $246.22 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $55.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 28,715 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,135,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 56,256 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $13,980,000 after purchasing an additional 10,593 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

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.