Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Raises Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,099 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $547,575,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $246.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $226.19 and its 200 day moving average is $242.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $55.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.89%.

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.