ICW Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 175 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,933 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 46,463 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $10,919,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after acquiring an additional 139,485 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $17,793,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 5,150 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $231.84 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $246.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.75.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.63.

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.