Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 34.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 466,689 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,445 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.21% of Norfolk Southern worth $109,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $208.11 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $51.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought 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 approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.