Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Bought by Prosperity Consulting Group LLC

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 72.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,026 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $721,452,000 after purchasing an additional 371,589 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $221.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $230.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.92. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year 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.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% 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.