Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 154.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 10,311 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,579 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $207,830,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $122,798,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,840.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 355,152 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $88,255,000 after purchasing an additional 336,845 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $239.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $54.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.93.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

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.