Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 59.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,263 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 16,179 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after buying an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $720,626,000 after buying an additional 496,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after buying an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $243.30 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.58. The firm has a market cap of $54.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their price objective 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,440. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 value of $88,529.90. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.