Malaga Cove Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,441 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,261 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $83,031,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,072,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,953. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $250.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.