Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 1,047 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,037 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after acquiring an additional 124,362 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $813,554,000 after acquiring an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $264.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $252.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.46. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $204.90 and a 12 month high of $277.60. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. UBS Group upped 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. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

About Norfolk Southern

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.