Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $11.02 Million Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 51,350 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $11,024,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.56.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $247.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $246.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.18.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

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.