Waycross Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Waycross Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 36.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 14,805 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 1.8% of Waycross Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NSC. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE NSC opened at $245.80 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $240.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.02. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.