Westpac Banking Corp Trims Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,621 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $613,255,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 550.6% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $251,712,000 after purchasing an additional 832,210 shares in the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $181,995,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $150,989,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 952,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $286,154,000 after acquiring an additional 459,166 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $313.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.17.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

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.