W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Buys 236 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 23,037.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 349,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $86,762,000 after purchasing an additional 347,634 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,696 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $247.84 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.78. The stock has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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.

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%. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

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.