Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. Buys New Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 280 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NSC opened at $253.63 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.03.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.