D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $63.63 Million Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 271,123 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 137,678 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $63,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NSC stock traded up $0.98 on Tuesday, reaching $240.09. 1,645,351 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,211,566. The business's 50 day moving average price is $225.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a market capitalization of $54.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.