Allianz SE Makes New $187,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 800 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $187,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,575,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 72,944 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,120,000 after buying an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 66,907 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $15,703,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $547,575,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.9 %

NSC stock opened at $237.24 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $206.71 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $245.12 and its 200 day moving average is $248.93. The company has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

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.