Essex Financial Services Inc. Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,660 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 781.3% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 141 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,239 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,403,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.2 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $256.53 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $58.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

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.