Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $2.86 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,054 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,258 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $234,433,000 after purchasing an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $157,643,000 after purchasing an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $255.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,905,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,678. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $57.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $239.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.