CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $48.16 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 205,091 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 7,617 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.09% of Norfolk Southern worth $48,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,089,164 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $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% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $547,575,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased 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 $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:NSC traded up $5.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $227.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 728,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $231.67 and its 200-day moving average is $245.20.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 46.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.35.

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.