Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Buys New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,347 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE NSC opened at $243.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $246.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.78. The company has a market capitalization of $54.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.56.

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.