Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Acquires 72 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,317 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NSC opened at $252.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $250.55 and its 200 day moving average is $237.17. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $192.53 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.