Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,138,853 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 55,694 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.50% of Norfolk Southern worth $283,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,843 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,030 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $30,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,457 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,830,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,830 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $3.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $264.00. 682,544 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,240,946. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $258.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.31. The firm has a market cap of $59.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.