1832 Asset Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 180,837 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 180,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $46,090,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The purchase was disclosed in a legal 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 company’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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NSC. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.65.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 10.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $24.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $247.22. 2,993,456 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,060,314. The firm has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s 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.