Indie Asset Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 1,048 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Indie Asset Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,048 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $314,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 277,047 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $70,611,000 after acquiring an additional 6,966 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 112,217 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,517 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. UBS Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $250.09 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $190.01 and a twelve month high of $263.66. 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 stock has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $250.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.