Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,942 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE NSC opened at $247.84 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $245.46 and its 200 day moving average is $250.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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