Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN

Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Insight Folios Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 1,416 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,966 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $2,058,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. 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 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $216.30. 410,016 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,100,940. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $225.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.