Guggenheim Capital LLC Buys 210 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,580 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dagco Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 4,660 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,325,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $357,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.79.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $213.91 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $235.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.13.

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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

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.