Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Grows Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,465,985 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 213,420 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $423,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $25,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $314.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $308.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.08. 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 one year low of $247.85 and a one year high of $326.00. The firm has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.