Associated Banc Corp Makes New $221,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Associated Banc Corp bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 889 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $605,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 963,816 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $239,508,000 after buying an additional 15,577 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,871,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 purchase, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NSC opened at $276.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $255.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. 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 $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid 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 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.