Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 217,802 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $51,118,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 533,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $132,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $918,000. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 3,168 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. 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. Stephens increased their price target 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, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $242.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G 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 fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.71.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.