B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Invests $1.25 Million in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,865 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $613,255,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $321,393,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 550.6% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $251,712,000 after buying an additional 832,210 shares during the period. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $181,995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders bought 4,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,259,874. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $299.66 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $287.92 and a 200 day moving average of $277.85. The stock has a market cap of $67.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 41.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.90.

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.