877 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Purchased by Planning Directions Inc.

Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 877 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $261.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $205.70 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio 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.