Interval Partners LP Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Interval Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 23,793 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,108,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position 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 worth $106,661,000 after acquiring an additional 429,288 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company 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 boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $245.99 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.67. The company has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.61, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its 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. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.