AMG National Trust Bank Boosts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,207 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,350 shares of company stock worth $2,353,715. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $3.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $240.65. 637,175 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,273,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $229.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.23. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $54.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.