Wealthspire Advisors LLC Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,197 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

NSC opened at $243.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $245.47 and a 200 day moving average of $250.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.