Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Acquired by Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,919 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,261 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern makes up about 2.3% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $40,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $746,217,000 after buying an additional 3,025,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $537,007,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,724,821 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,666 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,546,214 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $627,438,000 after purchasing an additional 638,384 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.6 %

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.62. 240,935 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,261,504. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $253.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.45. The stock has a market cap of $59.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 67.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern 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.