Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 118,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,497 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $34,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,455,000 after buying an additional 29,264 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $24,033,000. Markel Group Inc. increased 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 worth $77,055,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,165,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 250,186 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $75,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NSC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore set a $325.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $318.20 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $236.37 and a 12 month high of $323.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $299.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. 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.