National Bank of Canada FI Raises Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 163.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,383 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 129,203 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.09% of Norfolk Southern worth $44,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,623,690 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,001,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,072 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,986,180 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,525,699,000 after purchasing an additional 124,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,752,050 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $956,285,000 after purchasing an additional 347,852 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 157.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,890,665 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $735,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $556,797,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $252.76 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s 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, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.