Eastern Bank Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,610 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, 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 transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $256.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.88. The stock has a market cap of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results 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. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.79 EPS 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

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.