Sameh Fahmy Purchases 1,000 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought 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 owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Sameh Fahmy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 1st, Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $251.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $249.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.76 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NSC. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in 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 lifted 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 worth $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after acquiring an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

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.