Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. increased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,255 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 74.8% in the second quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 7,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,639 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 31,048 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,666,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 11,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 65,488 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,060,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $742,440. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,077.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 4,700 shares of company stock worth $1,105,065 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective 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 given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.1 %

NSC stock traded down $2.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.01. 732,941 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,265,777. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $236.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.