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

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 41.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,631 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions 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. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $207,830,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $256.85 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.