Hoge Financial Services LLC Purchases New Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Hoge Financial Services LLC bought a new stake 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. The institutional investor bought 1,014 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $144,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 84,364 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $20,965,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,252 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

NSC traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $249.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,208,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,298. The stock has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.