Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,119 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the second quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 12.4% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 381 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $245.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.