Haven Capital Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Haven Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,639 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,845 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,186,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 670,600 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $166,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.9 %

NSC opened at $234.42 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.40. The company has a market cap of $53.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.