Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,341 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the second quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 2,433 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.0% in the second quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,029 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 72.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $178.00 to $177.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 27th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $229.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $271.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Norfolk Southern from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $248.86.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.01. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.98% and a net margin of 25.66%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Norfolk Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James A. Squires sold 21,272 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.76, for a total transaction of $5,227,806.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $246,005.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director James A. Squires sold 21,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.76, for a total transaction of $5,227,806.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,005.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.35, for a total value of $516,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 30,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,791,319.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

About Norfolk Southern

(Get Rating)

Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which owns a freight railroad. It engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest and, via interchange with rail carriers to and from the rest of the United States.

See Also

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Norfolk Southern (NSC)
• MarketBeat Week in Review – 1/30 – 2/3
• Are Penny Stocks Worth it? Should You Invest in Penny Stocks?
• Zimmer Biomet Beats on Earnings, Growth May be Priced In
• AI Software Maker EPAM Boasts Biggest Tech-Sector Rally
• Ford Stock Going Forward After Big Earnings Flop

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Norfolk Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Norfolk Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.