Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Position Boosted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,561,273 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 239,914 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Norfolk Southern worth $5,263,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NSC opened at $281.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $287.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $302.24.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,650 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,640. This represents a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.10.

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.