DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $22.13 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,621 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 17,316 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $22,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $258.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.80.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $3.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $266.47. 1,718,349 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,573. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $60.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $247.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.71.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 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.