Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,676 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,845 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $7,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.2%

NSC stock opened at $281.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.36. The company has a market capitalization of $63.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.