Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Buys Shares of 900 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 900 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at $6,214,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.1% during the first quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 119,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,283,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $226.00 to $253.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $242.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.40.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $2.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $203.32. 228,717 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,870. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $219.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.03. The firm has a market cap of $46.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $194.05 and a 12-month high of $261.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.20). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 20.25%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 4th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 48.56%.

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.