Quaero Capital S.A. Acquires New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Quaero Capital S.A. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 888 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HORAN Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $525,000. Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 16,600 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Horan Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 74,167 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $18,983,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 25,632 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,561,000 after acquiring an additional 16,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.70.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $280.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $63.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $302.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.