Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,248 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. TD Cowen increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $247.86 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $56.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.