Hoey Investments Inc. Buys 281 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hoey Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1,756.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 297 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,882 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,605,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,972,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,224 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Inkwell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $2,851,000. Finally, United Bank lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 10,039 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $230.41 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $245.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.05. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend 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.