Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,335 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,974 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $34,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the period. 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 worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5%

NSC traded up $1.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $261.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,222,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,769. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $58.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.71.

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.