Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases 190 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,076 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NSC opened at $252.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $247.82 and its 200-day moving average is $236.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

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.