Pineridge Advisors LLC Acquires 125 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Pineridge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 781.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’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 purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $253.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.03.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

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.