W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Purchases 142 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,412 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NSC. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital upped 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. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE NSC opened at $262.22 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $253.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $59.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.