Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Increased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $272.60 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $256.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.57.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

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.