3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,076 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 72.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Vertical Research raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $210.00 to $227.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $242.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.40.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

Norfolk Southern stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $198.27. The stock had a trading volume of 80,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,430. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.03. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $194.05 and a 52 week high of $261.71. The stock has a market cap of $45.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 20.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.56%.

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.