Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 66,233 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,026 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,145 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23.6% during the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 262 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,403 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.18.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $250.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $253.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.26. The company has a market cap of $61.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 67.33%.

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.