Sei Investments Co. Purchases 31,279 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,809 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 31,279 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.13% of Norfolk Southern worth $65,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target 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. Finally, Benchmark boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $247.86 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.51 and a 200 day moving average of $237.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors 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 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.