Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 85,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $26,740,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $3,669,000. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $13,837,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $1,376,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $351.73 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $329.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.17. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

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.