Horan Securities Inc. Buys 121 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Horan Securities Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,725 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the quarter. Horan Securities Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after buying an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,830,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $243.89 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. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.51 and a 200-day moving average of $250.85. The stock has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

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.