The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $43.95 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,138 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 9,611 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Norfolk Southern worth $43,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. 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 report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore set a $358.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $333.72 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.23 and a 52-week high of $358.60. The stock has a market cap of $74.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $319.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.70.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.