ING Groep NV raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC – Free Report) by 151.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,899 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,895 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $21,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $28,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $26,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have commented on NSC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.71.
Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.1%
NSC stock opened at $313.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.20. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $247.85 and a 52 week high of $326.00. The company has a market capitalization of $70.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.27.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.
Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.49%.
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.
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