New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $7.12 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,331 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $7,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $376,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 14,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,518 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $245.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $246.07 and its 200-day moving average is $250.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

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.