Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $565,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $2,933,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after purchasing an additional 75,729 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,444,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 150,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,692,000 after buying an additional 40,861 shares during the period. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $608,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value 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 Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $214.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $227.10 and a 200 day moving average of $239.01. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.89.

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.