Swiss National Bank Lowers Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 649,900 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 34,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Norfolk Southern worth $195,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,455,000 after purchasing an additional 29,264 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 8.5% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $77,055,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $2,165,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $24,033,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NSC opened at $302.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $300.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.77.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.