Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Position Increased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 168.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,000 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 80,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Norfolk Southern worth $30,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,881 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 960 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,507 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.79.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $3.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.76. The company had a trading volume of 831,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,641. The company has a market cap of $53.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $236.57 and its 200-day moving average is $246.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.