Stokes Family Office LLC Purchases Shares of 1,059 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Stokes Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $234.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 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. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $246.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

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.