Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $8.76 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,812 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,770 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $241,421,000 after buying an additional 875,473 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during 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 buying an additional 429,288 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $246.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $244.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.58. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The business 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.