MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. Invests $75,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 300 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $75,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Citigroup raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This represents a 59.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.3 %

NSC opened at $261.26 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $205.70 and a one year high of $277.60. 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 market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $252.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.