Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Empyrean Capital Partners LP

Empyrean Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 203,800 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,300 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises approximately 2.1% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $58,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,803,630,000 after acquiring an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $871,646,000 after acquiring an additional 269,000 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $300.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $309.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.56. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $250.65 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for 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%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

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.