Navigation Group LLC Makes New $705,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Navigation Group LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,458 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,748 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $614,974,000 after purchasing an additional 860,000 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $335.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $328.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $327.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $313.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $257.49 and a 1-year high of $329.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern 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.