Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 46.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 286,818 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 244,937 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $67,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,098,472,000 after purchasing an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. Members Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 2,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 51,647 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.24.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE NSC opened at $251.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $56.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.