Amalgamated Bank Reduces Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 971 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,021 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,143 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 160,233 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $37,876,000 after purchasing an additional 22,048 shares during the period. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 10,096 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $249.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $242.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.97. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern 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.