BankPlus Trust Department Makes New $440,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,873 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 35,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,367,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 63,670 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,943,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 60,617 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,227,000 after buying an additional 19,008 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 521.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,101 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,840,000 after buying an additional 10,153 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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, Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $243.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, 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 posted its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.