Boston Financial Mangement LLC Acquires 400 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,624 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in 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 raised its stake 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 raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% in the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE NSC opened at $249.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $245.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $56.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Norfolk Southern

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.