Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $2.60 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,065 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital lowered 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $253.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.03. 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 $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired 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 $646,271.82. This trade 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 company insiders.

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.