Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,952 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after buying an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after acquiring an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $252.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $184.62 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.87.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business 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 posted $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.