Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 928 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $557,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $248,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.9% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $235.51 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $245.58 and its 200 day moving average is $249.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.29%. 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.