O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 1,003 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,224 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. United Bank increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $1,346,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,830 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,457 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,853,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE NSC opened at $238.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.