Aviance Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 967 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised 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. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $259.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.27. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.