SageView Advisory Group LLC Makes New $1.12 Million Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,746 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,124,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,456 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Claude Mongeau purchased 5,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $219.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $183.09 and a 52 week high of $263.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $232.59 and its 200 day moving average is $239.44.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.32 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.