Diversified Trust Co Acquires 480 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,646 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $36,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $221.00 per share, with a total value of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 10,350 shares of company stock worth $2,353,715 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark raised their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $240.13. The company had a trading volume of 21,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,518. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $227.04 and its 200-day moving average is $238.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.