Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,870,443 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 233,927 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.27% of Norfolk Southern worth $673,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 501,053 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 131.1% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 691 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,143,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 128.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 887 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $271.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $293.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

NSC traded up $2.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $224.28. 1,051,035 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,237,820. The stock's 50-day moving average is $228.38 and its 200 day moving average is $244.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 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.