Partners in Financial Planning Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,402 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $230.41 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.05.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.