CWS Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 143 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,019 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $243.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.79. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.