Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 267.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,720 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $247.86 on Friday. 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 cap of $56.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.85. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.