Highbridge Capital Management LLC Invests $601,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $601,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $613,255,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 550.6% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $251,712,000 after acquiring an additional 832,210 shares in the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $181,995,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $150,989,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 93.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 952,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $286,154,000 after purchasing an additional 459,166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:NSC opened at $316.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $296.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.32. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $319.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 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 analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.