Stifel Financial Corp Raises Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,162,985 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 24,132 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.51% of Norfolk Southern worth $272,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,714,927,000 after acquiring an additional 139,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $721,452,000 after purchasing an additional 371,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $547,575,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.2 %

NSC traded down $5.03 on Friday, hitting $221.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,306,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,865. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $231.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.08. 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. The company has a market cap of $54.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.