HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 42.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,937 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,766 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $67,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE NSC opened at $230.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $52.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $246.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.74. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.