HTLF Bank Buys Shares of 2,464 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

HTLF Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,464 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $582,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 200.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after buying an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after buying an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Benchmark increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $241.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.95 and a 200-day moving average of $230.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $59.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.