Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 123.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 44,628 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $11,469,000 after purchasing an additional 24,662 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $244.90 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $55.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.94. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

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.