Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 63.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,939 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,245 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital cut 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $255.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.45. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.