Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Northcape Wealth Management LLC

Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded up $3.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $240.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 637,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,273,126. The business has a fifty day moving average of $229.77 and a 200 day moving average of $238.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 10,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,353,715 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.