Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,144 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 771 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after buying an additional 75,729 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 150,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,692,000 after acquiring an additional 40,861 shares during the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $608,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $984,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $1,442,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NSC traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $249.11. The company had a trading volume of 519,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,498. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.