Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 15,577 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 963,816 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 15,577 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Norfolk Southern worth $239,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $813,554,000 after purchasing an additional 37,386 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,373,909 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $341,416,000 after purchasing an additional 19,394 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE NSC opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.30. The company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. 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 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

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.