ING Groep NV Has $19.76 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ING Groep NV boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 374.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,196 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,454 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $19,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.11.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $249.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

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.