USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases 4,997 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,536 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,997 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 185.1% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $320.35.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $319.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $311.61 and a 200-day moving average of $301.67. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $257.49 and a 52-week high of $326.00. The stock has a market cap of $71.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.