BKM Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,894 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $583,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE NSC opened at $251.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.76 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 3,700 shares of company stock valued at $921,565 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

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.