Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,086 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,330,849 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,318,716,000 after buying an additional 196,249 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,580,925 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,133,828,000 after purchasing an additional 62,186 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,892,717 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $967,340,000 after purchasing an additional 103,281 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18,831.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,298,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $819,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,579 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $671,532,000 after purchasing an additional 881,415 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded up $5.69 on Friday, hitting $243.89. 1,221,460 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,158,598. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $246.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.92. The firm has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $206.71 and a one year high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.