Bearing Point Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Bearing Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,730 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after buying an additional 139,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth 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, FMR LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $721,452,000 after purchasing an additional 371,589 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $224.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $227.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.89%.

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.

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