Natixis Advisors L.P. Purchases 49,278 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,376 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 49,278 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned about 0.09% of Norfolk Southern worth $48,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $83,031,000 after buying an additional 349,778 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after buying an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NSC traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,072,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,953. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $250.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.40. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.