Sameh Fahmy Buys 1,650 Shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Stock

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. This represents a 15.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.8%

NSC opened at $284.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $286.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.97.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 41.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 32.2% in the first quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,356 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 96,621 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $22,128,000 after purchasing an additional 17,316 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.