Cohen & Steers Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 723,068 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,179 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $208,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 3,087 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Bank lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 5,849 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 137,519 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $39,704,000 after buying an additional 3,968 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 565 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,529 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $325.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $314.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $308.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.08. The stock has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $247.85 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.