Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,995 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 8,919 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $566,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $3,085,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $158,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Loop Capital downgraded 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. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $232.75 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $246.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. 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.