Sanctuary Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,712 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.7% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade 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.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $258.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $245.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.52. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced 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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.