SVB Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 2,659 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,659 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Loop Capital lowered 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $244.90 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $246.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern 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.