Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Grows Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $249.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $247.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.50. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

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.