2,000 Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Bought by Highbridge Capital Management LLC

Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $601,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,376 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NSC opened at $316.85 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $319.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.32. The company has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,389.95. This represents a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.