QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 209 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,973 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth 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. Maia Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 960 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $245.96 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 fifty day moving average price of $246.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.77. 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 $55.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

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%. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade 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 company insiders.

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.