Acadian Asset Management LLC Has $1.06 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4,336.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,814 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $79,000. Umpqua Bank raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.3% during the second quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 2,255 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 7,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,639 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,431,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price 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. Benchmark increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted 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, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5 %

NSC stock opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. 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 twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $241.02 and its 200-day moving average is $237.97.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern 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.