New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 167 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,048 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,525,699,000 after purchasing an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $556,797,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $250.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $236.56 and a 200 day moving average of $238.06.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on 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 Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. 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 owned by insiders.

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.