Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Has $4.85 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the second 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, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 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 corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE NSC opened at $268.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

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.