Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 25.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,603 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $106,661,000 after purchasing an additional 429,288 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE NSC opened at $221.94 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.