Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Position Boosted by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,208 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $4.14 on Friday, reaching $256.16. 1,453,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 928,687. The stock has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.13.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. 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%.

Norfolk Southern 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.