Tradewinds LLC. Purchases Shares of 1,051 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,051 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $547,575,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $207,830,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the 4th 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,225,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $236.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.86.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

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.