Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Takes $34.93 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 136,464 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $34,931,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Norfolk Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% in the first quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,389 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total transaction of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. This represents a 38.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $286.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $287.67 and a 200-day moving average of $271.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NSC. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.10.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.