Zacks Investment Management Takes $45.04 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 191,884 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $45,035,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.79.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

NSC opened at $217.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $53.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $235.89 and its 200-day moving average is $246.36. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.