HUB Investment Partners LLC Makes New $249,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,062 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.63.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $246.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 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.