Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 371,589 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $721,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $962,000. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 36,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $8,567,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 466,689 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $109,532,000 after acquiring an additional 118,445 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 323.9% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 11,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,961,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

NSC opened at $205.85 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $239.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.74.

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.