First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 7,458 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,886 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $6,214,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 119,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,283,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.37% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $206.60 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $194.05 and a 52-week high of $261.71. The company has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.93. 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 issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 4th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $226.00 to $253.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Vertical Research raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Citigroup raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $210.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $242.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.40.

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.