Hilltop Holdings Inc. Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 34.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,830 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $264.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $59.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 2.04%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

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.