Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 331,842 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $78,441,000 after purchasing an additional 17,178 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 3,860 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 6,899 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 242,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $57,425,000 after acquiring an additional 35,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 19,820 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,685,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $243.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $246.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.88. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Benchmark lifted their price target 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 raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently 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.