Wexford Capital LP Invests $4.02 Million in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,128 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,020,000. Norfolk Southern comprises 0.6% of Wexford Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $547,575,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 501,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $308,607,000 after acquiring an additional 469,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $239.52. The stock had a trading volume of 957,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,426. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $226.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.36. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. 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. 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 (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 company 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 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.50.

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.