Vestcor Inc Increases Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Vestcor Inc increased its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 775.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,513 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 31.8% during the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,455,000 after acquiring an additional 29,264 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 8.5% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $77,055,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $2,165,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $24,033,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $354.00 to $297.00 in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.5%

NSC stock opened at $303.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.