Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,474 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $106,661,000 after purchasing an additional 429,288 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.0 %

NSC opened at $251.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.07.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report 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 report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

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.