Nordwand Advisors LLC Takes $2.58 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,095 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after purchasing an additional 232,195 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,680,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,822,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,228,064,000 after buying an additional 36,362 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $983,161,000 after buying an additional 138,678 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $947,006,000 after buying an additional 29,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.10.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7%

NSC stock opened at $281.87 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $286.96 and its 200 day moving average is $270.23. The firm has a market cap of $63.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. This trade represents a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.