Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Prosperity Consulting Group LLC

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 72.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,026 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $918,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.10.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $221.65 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $230.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern 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.