Creative Planning Buys 517 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,364 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $20,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $445,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $54,000. Evanson Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.2% in the first quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,551 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $252.37 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $247.82 and a 200-day moving average of $236.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $294.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.17.

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.