Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Plancorp LLC

Plancorp LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,584 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,507 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.