Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) is EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s Largest Position

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,865 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 7.4% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned 1.75% of Norfolk Southern worth $931,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,087,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 39,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $9,187,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 4,488 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,552,238 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $364,310,000 after buying an additional 226,931 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.8 %

NSC stock opened at $224.02 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $50.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.19.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

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.