Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,225 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $293.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $315.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.00. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $319.94.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. This represents a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.