Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,468 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,933,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after acquiring an additional 75,729 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,444,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 150,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,692,000 after acquiring an additional 40,861 shares during the period. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $221.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.78. The company has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.68 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.82.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.