Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,383 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.63.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $246.04 and a 200 day moving average of $249.85. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 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, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS 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 given 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 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.