Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 49.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,050,083 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 345,163 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $268,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,886 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,052,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,907 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,715,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 4,057 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 17,469 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,137,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,640. This trade represents a 15.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $281.30 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $63.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.63.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

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.