Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,859 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $556,797,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after acquiring an additional 875,473 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after acquiring an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1,956.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 451,226 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $106,661,000 after acquiring an additional 429,288 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

NSC stock opened at $216.42 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.