VELA Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

VELA Investment Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,454,000 after purchasing an additional 75,729 shares during the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,627,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $22,783,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were 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 $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 4,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,065 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $252.76 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio 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.