Richardson Financial Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 100.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 356 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 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 approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’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 owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $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. Insiders acquired 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock traded down $2.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $251.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,027,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,482. The company has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $249.22 and its 200-day moving average is $236.88. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.76 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.