Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC Invests $228,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 916 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 260.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,127 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,305,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 85.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.6% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 111.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $275.85 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $256.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.50. The company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.19% of the stock is 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.