The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 501,053 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 293.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 501,053 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.30% of Norfolk Southern worth $157,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $63,417,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $918,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

NSC traded up $2.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $224.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,051,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,237,820. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $50.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $228.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.22.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. Equities research 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. 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.