Fifth Third Bancorp Has $45.67 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 64.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 159,143 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,649 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $45,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after buying an additional 1,103,748 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $614,974,000 after acquiring an additional 860,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.72.

More Norfolk Southern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird raised its price target on Norfolk Southern from $330 to $360, signaling more upside potential even though the firm kept a neutral rating. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens upgraded Norfolk Southern to hold, a modestly more favorable stance that can support sentiment around the stock. Tickerreport.com article
• Neutral Sentiment: A Globe and Mail roundup noted that analyst views on Norfolk Southern are mixed, reinforcing that investors are balancing optimism on valuation with caution on near-term fundamentals. The Globe and Mail article
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target from $331 to $316 and kept a neutral rating, suggesting limited upside from current levels and some pressure on sentiment. Benzinga report
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed a surge in put buying, which can indicate that some traders are positioning for downside or hedging against short-term weakness. Options trading report

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $327.60 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $313.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $257.49 and a fifty-two week high of $328.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.17 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.