Seven Eight Capital LP Acquires New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,808 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,454,000 after buying an additional 75,729 shares in the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $608,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,627,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying 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 news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $249.29 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $242.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.97. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.