Primecap Management Co. CA Raises Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,132,583 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,500 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.50% of Norfolk Southern worth $340,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $2,394,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $311.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $297.07 and a 200 day moving average of $290.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $319.94.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently 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.