Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Shares Purchased by First PREMIER Bank

First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 129.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,283 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after purchasing an additional 985,938 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings 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 valued at $157,643,000 after buying an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $253.17. 1,849,323 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,242,285. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $236.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.32.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 36.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.24.

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.