Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,891 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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 owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $254.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $234.05 and a 200 day moving average of $238.07.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.