TIAA Trust National Association Boosts Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,410 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.63.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7 %

NSC stock opened at $235.65 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.42.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities 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. Investors 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 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.