Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Buys 1,651 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 291.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,218 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $294.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE NSC opened at $250.17 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $246.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.66. The stock has a market cap of $56.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.