Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,336 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Jain Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 271.0% during the third quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 13,185 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 9,631 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1,630.5% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 65,880 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $19,791,000 after buying an additional 62,073 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $184,752,000. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.7% in the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 7,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $299.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.95.

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.