Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,756 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,830,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $122,798,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1,840.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 355,152 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $88,255,000 after acquiring an additional 336,845 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $242.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $245.83 and a 200 day moving average of $250.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.