Broderick Brian C Acquires Shares of 3,750 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Broderick Brian C acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,750 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $956,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SPC Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $460,000. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,153 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,244,000. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 8,184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have given 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 $263.61.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $6.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $220.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,200,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,589. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $49.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 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 fifty day moving average of $223.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.