KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 75,813 Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 75,813 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,793,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,702,344 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,532,000 after acquiring an additional 881,415 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $207,830,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $122,798,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $308,607,000 after buying an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.63.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $231.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $246.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $249.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.