Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,638,009 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,085 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 0.73% of Norfolk Southern worth $492,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $298.96 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $319.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $300.48 and its 200-day moving average is $291.87. The stock has a market cap of $67.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.