Planning Directions Inc. Buys New Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Planning Directions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 862 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,112,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $869,600,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $746,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,724,821 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,666 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE NSC traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $241.28. 963,434 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 938,244. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $59.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.80. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.74.

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.