Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Position Reduced by Aventail Capital Group LP

Aventail Capital Group LP decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 53.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,242 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 16,107 shares during the period. Aventail Capital Group LP’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $614,974,000 after purchasing an additional 860,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $300.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $250.65 and a 1 year high of $326.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $309.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 45.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Argus raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $327.00 price target on Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.71.

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.