Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $259.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.27. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.