Livelsberger Financial Advisory Acquires Shares of 567 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 567 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000. Norfolk Southern comprises approximately 3.0% of Livelsberger Financial Advisory’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NSC stock traded down $3.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $249.17. The company had a trading volume of 542,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,134. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.66. The company has a market cap of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $294.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.17.

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.