IFG Advisory LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

IFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,812 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 32.4% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,035 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,369,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 69.9% during the second quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 35,270 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $7,572,000 after buying an additional 14,505 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $2,413,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.9% during the second quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 5,087 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Searle & CO. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the second quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 3,959 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark lifted 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target 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. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $256.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $232.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.13. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 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, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.