Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $272.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.57.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

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.