Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,164 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 18,086 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $28,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 185.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $327.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.29.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7%

NSC stock opened at $307.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $245.19 and a 12 month high of $326.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.97. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Norfolk Southern Company 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.