Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

NSC stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.45. 73,866 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,251,363. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $205.70 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 2.03%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern 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.