Align Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Align Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 51,970 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $15,005,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 669.2% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Argus upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore set a $325.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $300.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $309.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.56. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $250.65 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.49%.

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.