Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,995 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.2 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $232.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $246.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.51. 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 $52.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern 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.