Groupama Asset Managment Has $505,000 Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 77.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,973 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,763 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 216,515 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $55,421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 39.9% in the second quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,237 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 43.6% during the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 155,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $39,736,000 after buying an additional 47,105 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 181.3% during the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,807 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.10.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.7%

NSC opened at $292.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $288.58 and its 200-day moving average is $273.67. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.25 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.19%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.