Garner Asset Management Corp Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $249.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 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 firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.