HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 85,766 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,937 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 85,766 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Norfolk Southern worth $67,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 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, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $230.91 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $52.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $246.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.74. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

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, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s 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.