Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Newly Bought by Investment Partners LTD.

Investment Partners LTD. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,240 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 952 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,453 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $358.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Stephens raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.81.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $342.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $277.80 and a 12 month high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.88.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.26%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in the eastern United States. Through its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary, the company provides rail transportation and related services across a broad territory spanning portions of the Midwest, South and East Coast, including access to major industrial centers, ports and distribution markets.

Norfolk Southern transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal freight, merchandise, automotive products, coal and other energy-related materials.