Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by abrdn plc

abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 404,666 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,236 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $100,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $230,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $276,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 356 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Edge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other 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 approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE NSC opened at $252.41 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $184.62 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $249.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a 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

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average 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.