Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,316 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.79.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $218.78 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.54. The company has a market capitalization of $53.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its 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 return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.