Invesco Ltd. Boosts Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,912,486 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 143,915 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.85% of Norfolk Southern worth $448,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.4 %

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $221.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,560. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $237.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $54.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $268.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the business's 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.