Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 548,450 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $158,509,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned approximately 0.24% of Norfolk Southern at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $325.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $304.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $303.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $68.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $241.82 and a twelve month high of $326.00.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 45.49%.

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.