Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 601,343 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,726 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.27% of Norfolk Southern worth $129,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $249.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.36 and a 200-day moving average of $237.97.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

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.