Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Holdings Increased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 63,928 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $20,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $12,533,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after buying an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 138,194 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $39,899,000 after buying an additional 10,910 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 51,112 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,757,000 after buying an additional 18,012 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.2%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $334.86 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $75.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $322.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

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.