Garner Asset Management Corp Buys 126 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Garner Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,071 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 15.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,961 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,639,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 64,746 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $13,900,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 53,474 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,480,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $2,641,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $249.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.14, a PEG ratio of 2.48 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 one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.97.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Activity

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