Toronto Dominion Bank Acquires 27,831 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 34.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,128 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 27,831 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $25,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 4th 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. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,507 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research 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 report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.50.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $239.52. 957,246 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,210,691. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.92 and a 200-day moving average of $242.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given 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 yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

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.