TD Private Client Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,536 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. FMR LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,830,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of 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. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.63.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $231.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.