Janney Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Janney Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $314,000. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.2% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,354 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 60.9% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,043 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 112.5% in the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 8,184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $250.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.01 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $250.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.05.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.70%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,550,000. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’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 value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 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 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 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern 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.