Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $2.02 Billion Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 918,559 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 3.80% of Norfolk Southern worth $2,020,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:NSC opened at $220.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $232.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.36. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.79.

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.

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