Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,518 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 31.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,945 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $432,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NSC opened at $245.96 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.07 and its 200 day moving average is $250.85. The company has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was 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 Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was 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.

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.