125 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by Atlantic Private Wealth LLC

Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 125 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE NSC opened at $234.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $246.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 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%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s 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.