Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Abound Wealth Management

Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 122.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 182 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $39,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,902 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,104,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,797,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,339 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of 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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $245.80 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.02. The firm has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.