Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,537 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,622 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 291.2% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,218 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.3% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,726 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $249.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $246.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $56.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.