Swiss National Bank Boosts Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 658,520 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 44,080 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $188,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $25,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on 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 boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.35.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $340.24 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $314.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.50. The company has a market cap of $76.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $342.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio 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.