Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 203,772 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,634 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $61,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,455,000 after acquiring an additional 29,264 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1%

NSC opened at $298.96 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $300.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.95.

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.