Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 4,533 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,965 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,533 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $15,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $613,255,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 550.6% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $251,712,000 after buying an additional 832,210 shares during the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $181,995,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $150,989,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 952,544 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $286,154,000 after acquiring an additional 459,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $315.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn bought 204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.