Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $54.51 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 23,055 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $54,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,933,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 209.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 111,914 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,454,000 after buying an additional 75,729 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,444,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 150,998 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,692,000 after buying an additional 40,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $608,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced 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. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.53.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 319,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,409. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $52.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $222.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.72. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $1,902,593.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.