Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 34.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,497 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 51,699 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up approximately 0.7% of Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $28,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $826,128,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,179,610 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $654,757,000 after purchasing an additional 118,697 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,744,074 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $523,937,000 after purchasing an additional 76,751 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 22.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,252,565 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $376,283,000 after purchasing an additional 228,486 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $310.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Seven 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.17.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $321.81 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.51 and a 200 day moving average of $293.60. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $217.33 and a 12 month high of $322.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.