Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 18,086 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $28,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.29.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NSC opened at $307.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $305.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.97. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $245.19 and a one year high of $326.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $69.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.