Radnor Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.56 Million Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,291 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $24.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $277.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,200,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,619. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $250.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.17. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $193.00 and a one year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $62.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business'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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business'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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.16.

About Norfolk Southern

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.