Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 138.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,805 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 267,241 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $131,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $299.81 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $251.62 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 firm has a market cap of $67.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $309.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.69.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio 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.