Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires Shares of 4,709 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,709 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after purchasing an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $247.85 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.99.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

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.