Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,248 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 27.4% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 40,812 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $8,762,000 after acquiring an additional 8,770 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.6% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 303,809 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $65,222,000 after purchasing an additional 31,279 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,496 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,542,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.8% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 45,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $9,864,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NSC. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $247.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $243.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.