Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Has $250,000 Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,065 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 349,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $86,762,000 after acquiring an additional 347,634 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Eagle Ridge Investment Management lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 104,732 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,276 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $247.84 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 $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35. 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 simple moving average is $245.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

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.