HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Buys 250 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,205,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,377 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,639 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $132,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.6 %

NSC opened at $227.29 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. 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’s 50-day moving average is $246.36 and its 200 day moving average is $250.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

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.