Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $8.30 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,379 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

NSC stock opened at $260.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.80. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.31.

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. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio 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.