Legal & General Group Plc Raises Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,744,074 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,751 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.78% of Norfolk Southern worth $523,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 75.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 68.9% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $298.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $300.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.87. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $67.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.35%.

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.