Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Miracle Mile Advisors LLC

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,416 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $325,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second 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, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related 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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $243.20 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.73 and a 200-day moving average of $236.78. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $54.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.56.

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.