Aviance Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 967 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $27,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NSC opened at $259.71 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $253.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.