AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,418 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after buying an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $947,006,000 after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $740,891,000 after acquiring an additional 189,076 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:NSC opened at $283.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,020. The trade was a 59.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $307.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.70.

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.