Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $222,000 Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 99.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 738 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 265,262 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,561,273 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,263,069,000 after acquiring an additional 239,914 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,779,609,000 after purchasing an additional 192,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,822,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,228,064,000 after purchasing an additional 36,362 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,070,702,000 after buying an additional 184,586 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.5% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,289,431 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $841,994,000 after buying an additional 201,861 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $290.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $65.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $289.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.65. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 4,454 shares of company stock worth $1,259,874 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $293.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

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.