Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 594 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,488 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 594 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $14,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 163.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 208,383 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $44,606,000 after purchasing an additional 129,203 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 83,433 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 11,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 4,562.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on 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 increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $250.08 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $56.50 billion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.