Carroll Investors Inc Acquires Shares of 2,075 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Carroll Investors Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000. Norfolk Southern accounts for approximately 0.4% of Carroll Investors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,785 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after buying an additional 5,777 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,234 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 4,325 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 114,136 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,777 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Claude Mongeau acquired 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $24.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $247.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,993,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,314. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.61. The company has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.65.

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.