First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $250.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $187.75 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.