Asset Planning Inc Invests $82,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 350 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,349 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 86,396 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $20,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 51,647 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,122,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $257.22 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $245.58 and its 200 day moving average is $250.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.