Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. Has $157,000 Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 69.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 615 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 valued at $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $556,797,000. Finally, London Co. of Virginia increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in 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 buying an additional 577,171 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada raised Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.3 %

NSC stock traded up $4.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $214.69. 1,584,755 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,521. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $227.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $48.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.