Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 48.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,836 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,613 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $260.70 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $258.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.31. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

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.