Align Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Align Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 51,970 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $15,005,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after buying an additional 272,651 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,803,630,000 after buying an additional 379,819 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after buying an additional 36,205 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $871,646,000 after buying an additional 269,000 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target 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. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Argus raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $300.38 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.56. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $250.65 and a 1 year high of $326.00.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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