FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New $235,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,841,982 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $432,313,000 after buying an additional 6,721 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 957 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $440,000. Finally, W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 35,648 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $8,367,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE NSC opened at $241.77 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.60 and its 200-day moving average is $250.77.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS 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 anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

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.