Spire Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,641 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,058 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,181 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.0 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $250.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $248.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.15. The firm has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.