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

Plancorp LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,584 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.63.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $246.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $52.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.