Quarry LP Buys 692 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Quarry LP grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 378.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% during the first 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. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,356,590 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $720,626,000 after purchasing an additional 496,088 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $106,661,000 after purchasing an additional 429,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after buying an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $248.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.17. 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 fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.17.

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.