Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Buys Shares of 825 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 825 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $583,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders acquired a total of 3,700 shares of company stock worth $921,565 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $251.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.99. The company has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.76 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.