Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,179,610 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 118,697 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.97% of Norfolk Southern worth $654,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted 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. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.47.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $317.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $298.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.07. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 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.