Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 965 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.78.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC traded down $5.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $224.71. The stock had a trading volume of 899,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,343. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.99. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. 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.