3,184 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Bought by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,184 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $747,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 472.3% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 43,054 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $10,105,000 after purchasing an additional 35,531 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $3,448,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 134,666 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $31,606,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 33,275 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $7,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock traded up $15.66 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $239.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,491,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,672. 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 has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $225.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.76. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.49 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.