Personal CFO Solutions LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,770 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 317.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 146 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NSC traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $224.07. 781,452 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,186,169. The company has a fifty day moving average of $235.33 and a 200 day moving average of $238.94. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.56.

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.