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

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 311,501 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,090 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Norfolk Southern worth $73,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $207,830,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after buying an additional 469,558 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $232.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $246.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.52. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.