Dearborn Partners LLC Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Dearborn Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,598 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased 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 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $238.76 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $246.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.93. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

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.