Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by United Bank

United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,039 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the period. United Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stephens lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $230.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $206.71 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.