Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Umpqua Bank

Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.1% in the second quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 2,255 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 7,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,639 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 31,048 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,666,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 11,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna upped 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. Barclays decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $250.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.20. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.