Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Position Raised by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 281.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,758 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,986 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.2% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 344,363 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $88,147,000 after buying an additional 7,257 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 630,862 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $161,482,000 after acquiring an additional 30,065 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 1,375 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $280.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $62.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $287.44 and its 200-day moving average is $270.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 41.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. This trade represents a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.