ProShare Advisors LLC Has $6.70 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,207 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.5 %

NSC stock opened at $243.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.58. The company has a market cap of $54.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for 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 was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.