Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 123,304 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $38,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $358.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $334.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $323.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.50.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

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.