Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Salomon & Ludwin LLC

Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Members Trust Co lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 2,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $408,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,860,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $255.90 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $245.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35.

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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.