Caprock Group LLC Makes New $2.43 Million Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,679 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 5,986 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horan Securities Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.47.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,900.80. This trade represents a 38.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.9%

NSC opened at $314.56 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $319.94. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $293.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.74. The firm has a market cap of $70.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 42.35%.

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.