Boston Financial Mangement LLC Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,624 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after buying an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,830,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $122,798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $249.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.60. The firm has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Norfolk Southern

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.