Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Invests $237,000 in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,002 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $83,031,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $244.61 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.71. The stock has a market cap of $60.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released 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). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 67.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.74.

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.