Savant Capital LLC Acquires 257 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,239 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after acquiring an additional 889,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,796,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Stephens lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $253.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $245.86 and a 200-day moving average of $250.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.