Capital International Investors Raises Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Capital International Investors increased its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 180,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,640 shares during the period. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $52,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE NSC opened at $309.72 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $247.85 and a 12 month high of $326.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $306.23 and a 200-day moving average of $299.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $69.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 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.