HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Takes $2 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,063 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 229 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 37.1% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,521 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after buying an additional 4,470 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,819 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $2,779,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,271,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

NSC stock opened at $221.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $231.37 and a 200-day moving average of $239.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.56.

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.