KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,084 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,439 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.74.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NSC opened at $257.50 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The firm has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $249.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.