USS Investment Management Ltd Has $13.65 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,536 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,997 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after acquiring an additional 379,819 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $871,646,000 after purchasing an additional 269,000 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $319.29 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $311.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.67. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $257.49 and a one year high of $326.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $327.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $320.35.

About Norfolk Southern

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.