Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Purchases 1,875 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 132.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,291 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $240.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $252.80 and its 200 day moving average is $246.23. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.70%.

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.