904 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Purchased by Advyzon Investment Management LLC

Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NSC opened at $249.40 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued 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 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.