Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Position Boosted by Osaic Holdings Inc.

Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 19.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,162 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 7,957 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $282.97 per share, with a total value of $466,900.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 4,454 shares of company stock worth $1,259,874. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.40.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $291.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $287.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.71. The stock has a market cap of $65.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.19%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.