Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes $440,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,770 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,373,909 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $341,416,000 after buying an additional 19,394 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 604,019 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $150,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.1% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.6% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 33,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $8,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.7% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 18,300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,548,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.8 %

NSC opened at $268.95 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $253.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.96. 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 company has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for 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%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.