Summit Trail Advisors LLC Purchases 296 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 23.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,579 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE NSC opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $255.08 and a 200-day moving average of $240.63. 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 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was 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.

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.