FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 1.19% of Norfolk Southern worth $671,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $27,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.68.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Norfolk Southern
Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern
In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Norfolk Southern Price Performance
Shares of NSC traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $275.85. The company had a trading volume of 655,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,089. The company's 50-day moving average is $256.07 and its 200-day moving average is $241.11. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.
Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.
Norfolk Southern Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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