Centricity Wealth Management LLC Invests $510,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,172 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,812,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $649,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,699 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 23,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 349,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $86,762,000 after purchasing an additional 347,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,045 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $249.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.