AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the first 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 buying an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $321,393,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 341.9% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 789,950 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $187,100,000 after buying an additional 611,198 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $122,256,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $110,209,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.8%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $283.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap 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 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $285.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.70.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% 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.