Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,275 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 54.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,435 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $262.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. 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 50 day simple moving average of $253.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.10. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.