Sapient Capital LLC Purchases 77 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,189 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $144,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,885 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,319 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $256.53 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, 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 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.