Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,254 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during 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 period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NSC traded up $7.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $228.42. 370,250 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,301,647. The company has a market cap of $51.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.80 and its 200-day moving average is $237.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.