Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Has $753,000 Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,534 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in 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 valued at $106,661,000 after buying an additional 429,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’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 acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $248.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $245.36 and a 200-day moving average of $237.17. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.