Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 15.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,336 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $25,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the 3rd 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. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $299.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NSC opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $319.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $300.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. 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 year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

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.