Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after buying an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,373,909 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $341,416,000 after buying an additional 19,394 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $268.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

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.