615,000 Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Bought by Farallon Capital Management LLC

Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 615,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $184,752,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 68.9% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $289.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $300.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.24. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The company has a market capitalization of $64.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

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.