HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys 147 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,297 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $547,575,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,830,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NSC opened at $237.24 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 2.28%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.