Magnetar Financial LLC Buys New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 358,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $107,646,000. Norfolk Southern accounts for about 0.7% of Magnetar Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Magnetar Financial LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Norfolk Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. UBS Group lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NSC opened at $298.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $67.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.87.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Norfolk Southern Company 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.