Skylands Capital LLC Purchases 5,900 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Skylands Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,670 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 2.1% of Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $14,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 60,617 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,227,000 after acquiring an additional 19,008 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 521.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,101 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,840,000 after acquiring an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,014,000. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $247.84 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.78. The stock has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

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.