Nordea Investment Management AB Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,685 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 68.9% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced 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 report on Tuesday, November 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NSC opened at $290.09 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 stock has a market capitalization of $65.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.04.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 4,454 shares of company stock worth $1,259,874 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Norfolk Southern

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.