OFI Invest Asset Management Invests $846,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,223 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 10,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,353,715. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

NSC traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $240.44. 853,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,288,830. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $228.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.32 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

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.