Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 13.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,019 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,301 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.8% during the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,455,000 after purchasing an additional 29,264 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 682.1% during the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 56,012 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after purchasing an additional 48,850 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.5% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $77,055,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $2,165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.9%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $316.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $296.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.36. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid 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, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.