Ieq Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,269 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 958 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 211,051 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $49,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,124,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Benchmark increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE NSC opened at $247.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $243.51 and a 200-day moving average of $237.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought 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 $742,440. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.