Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Purchased by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $327.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $312.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.61. The company has a market cap of $70.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $247.85 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.49%.

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.