939 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by Austin Private Wealth LLC

Austin Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 939 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NSC opened at $255.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $248.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.95. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.50%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.74.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.