Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Position Increased by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,555 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $547,575,000. Boston Partners raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after buying an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $105,225,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,621,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 4.5 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $210.78 on Friday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $242.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.34. The firm has a market cap of $47.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NSC. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. One 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, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.74.

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.