1,000 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by bLong Financial LLC

bLong Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.90 on Friday. 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 $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.