Kimelman & Baird LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 56,880 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,212,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 209.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,454,000 after buying an additional 75,729 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,627,000. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 96,384 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $22,783,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306 shares during the period. Finally, Broderick Brian C purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $956,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.89.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,000 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,440. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $246.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $244.95 and its 200-day moving average is $237.24. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $55.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 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.