Spinnaker Trust Takes $408,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Spinnaker Trust bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,740 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $255.90 on Friday. 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 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 $245.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.44. The company has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35.

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, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.