Calamos Wealth Management LLC Purchases 805 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,673 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $250.13 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

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.