Diversified Trust Co Acquires 480 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 15.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,646 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,001,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,072 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 10,350 shares of company stock worth $2,353,715 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $240.13. The stock had a trading volume of 21,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,518. The stock has a market cap of $54.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.45. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

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.