125 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 125 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,477 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.9% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,153 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several recent research 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped 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, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded down $4.41 on Thursday, reaching $237.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,178,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,052. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $229.36 and a 200-day moving average of $238.38. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $53.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of the company’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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 10,350 shares of company stock worth $2,353,715. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.