First Bancorp Inc ME Purchases 329 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 17.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC traded up $4.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $252.37. 1,332,534 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,633. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $247.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.87. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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 lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 owned by insiders.

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.