Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Purchased by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,864 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,778 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $17,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 57.4% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,066,000 after acquiring an additional 3,724 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $601,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 71,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $21,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Partners in Financial Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 9,383 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $314.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.