Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,957 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after purchasing an additional 124,362 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,135 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $556,797,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $257.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 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 fifty day moving average of $238.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.