876 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Purchased by CWS Financial Advisors LLC

CWS Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 876 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $275.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $256.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern 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.