7,626 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,626 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,790,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $251.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.49.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.