Archer Investment Corp Has $481,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $0.69 on Friday, reaching $265.45. The company had a trading volume of 73,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,363. 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 stock has a market cap of $60.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.76 and a 200-day moving average of $238.64. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $205.70 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.