Hoge Financial Services LLC Acquires New Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hoge Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,014 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $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 purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE NSC opened at $255.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.44. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.