Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 1,097 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,285 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.95.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:NSC traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $230.91. 1,893,247 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,367. The firm has a market cap of $52.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $246.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.74.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. 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 Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

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.