Hantz Financial Services Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,818 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after purchasing an additional 75,729 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,627,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $22,783,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $256.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $232.48 and a 200-day moving average of $238.22. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

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.