Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 829 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $275.85 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.50.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.