Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stake Raised by Amundi

Amundi boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $308,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 22,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,566,000 after purchasing an additional 9,891 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 76,225 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $18,938,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Stephens lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $243.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.85. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

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.