Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Bought by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,465,985 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 213,420 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.65% of Norfolk Southern worth $423,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $329,629,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $181,995,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.1%

NSC opened at $314.05 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $247.85 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $308.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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