Prospera Private Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 313 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. 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 valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $264.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $253.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.58. The company has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.