Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Royal Bank of Canada cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 783,925 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 49,366 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.35% of Norfolk Southern worth $183,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,714,927,000 after purchasing an additional 139,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased 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 worth $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $293.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded down $4.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $239.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,398,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,704. 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 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.38.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.