Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,476 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,627 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $30,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13.9% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,879 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,295,460 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $306,830,000 after acquiring an additional 84,953 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.95.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. The trade was a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 4,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,259,874 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $289.89 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 41.19%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.