Qsemble Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,241 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $275.38 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.87. 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 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. 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 previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.