Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,712 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Highbridge Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 728.0% in the fourth quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 16,560 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,781,000 after purchasing an additional 14,560 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $336,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 104.0% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,993 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $327.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NSC opened at $313.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $305.69 and a 200 day moving average of $299.07. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $247.85 and a 52-week high of $326.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.49%.

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.