12,118 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by Essential Planning LLC.

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,118 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,085,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.95.

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Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $3.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $227.29. 1,470,122 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,167,464. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $246.36 and its 200 day moving average is $250.58.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.