TCW Group Inc. Purchases 4,782 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,962 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,782 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. UBS Group lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

NSC stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.86. 784,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,714,311. The stock has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $241.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

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.