Livelsberger Financial Advisory Purchases New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 567 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000. Norfolk Southern comprises 3.0% of Livelsberger Financial Advisory’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3 %

NSC stock traded down $3.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $249.17. The company had a trading volume of 542,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.66. The company has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % 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.

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.