CWS Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 876 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,023,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $254,396,000 after buying an additional 66,965 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1,840.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 355,152 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $88,255,000 after buying an additional 336,845 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,979 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,177,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $275.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $256.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.