Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Purchases 20,261 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 169,919 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 20,261 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises 2.3% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $40,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $746,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $537,007,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,724,821 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $671,451,000 after buying an additional 1,265,666 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,546,214 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $627,438,000 after acquiring an additional 638,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $241.62. 240,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,261,504. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.45. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $59.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.33%.

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.