Oak Thistle LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,562 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $398,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 317.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $214.06 on Tuesday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.01.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.89.

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.