Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Acquires 41 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE NSC opened at $251.09 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.76 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $249.22 and its 200 day moving average is $237.00.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

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.