Caxton Associates LLP Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 328.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 338,126 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 259,126 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up 2.2% of Caxton Associates LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Caxton Associates LLP owned 0.15% of Norfolk Southern worth $97,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,012,836,000 after purchasing an additional 272,651 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after purchasing an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Norfolk Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Norfolk Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.52 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose to a record roughly $3.5 billion and increased 12.5% year over year. Article: Norfolk Southern (NSC) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to stronger freight demand, higher fuel surcharges, volume growth, and intermodal gains as key drivers of the quarter, which helped boost investor confidence in operating momentum. Article: Norfolk Southern rides freight demand, fuel surcharges to quarterly profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it achieved record quarterly revenue, and several outlets noted the stock rose as the revenue surge and earnings beat outweighed margin compression. Article: Norfolk Southern Stock Rises as Revenue Surge Offsets Margin Compression
• Neutral Sentiment: Norfolk Southern also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reinforcing shareholder returns but not changing the main earnings-driven stock move. Article: Norfolk Southern earnings report and conference call

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $358.00 price target on Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $327.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $331.29.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 5.1%

NYSE:NSC opened at $347.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $316.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.84.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. 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.