Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Position Lifted by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,502 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $234,433,000 after purchasing an additional 985,938 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after purchasing an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $157,643,000 after purchasing an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $250.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.24.

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.