ABC Arbitrage SA Takes $2.86 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,187 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,860,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.38. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

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.