Bangor Savings Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 166.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $62,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $243.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $54.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $246.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.78. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.56.

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.