Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,985 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd 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. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.30. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern 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.