Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Director Acquires $87,279.50 in Stock

Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, October 24th, Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $246.22 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NSC. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

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.