BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 6,966 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 277,047 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,966 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $70,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,149 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $556,797,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,296,632 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $306,498,000 after purchasing an additional 38,080 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 600.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,021,312 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $241,421,000 after purchasing an additional 875,473 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $215.86. 945,731 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,921. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.33. The company has a market cap of $48.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $183.09 and a 12 month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.