SCS Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 43,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $13,837,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 16,720 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 54,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,350 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 51,112 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,757,000 after purchasing an additional 18,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $334.69 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $324.87 and a 200-day moving average of $311.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $75.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern 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.