MQS Management LLC Takes $455,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,119 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Tennessee Treasury Department increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,454,000 after purchasing an additional 75,729 shares during the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $608,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,627,000. Finally, Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $22,783,000 after buying an additional 6,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Benchmark lifted 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $251.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.07. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.