Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. Invests $223,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE NSC opened at $268.95 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.90 and a 200-day moving average of $239.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.