Sunburst Financial Group LLC Grows Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sunburst Financial Group LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,063 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after buying an additional 73,149 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $556,797,000. Finally, London Co. of Virginia boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after acquiring an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.05. 160,332 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,321,814. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $228.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.07. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

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.