Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 9,342 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,249 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 9,342 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $16,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $583,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE NSC traded up $10.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $259.07. 884,861 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,250,957. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.66. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $58.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.08%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 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.