LifeGoal Wealth Advisors Buys Shares of 1,048 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

LifeGoal Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,048 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in 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 buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $918,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One 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, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $244.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $245.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.83.

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 20.04%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend 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.