Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Purchases 4,533 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,965 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,533 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $315.89 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $294.75 and a 200 day moving average of $288.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $319.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

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.