5,700 Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Purchased by Carlson Capital L.P.

Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,700 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,646,000. Norfolk Southern accounts for approximately 0.6% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $826,128,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,179,610 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $654,757,000 after purchasing an additional 118,697 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,744,074 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $523,937,000 after purchasing an additional 76,751 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $312.47 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.95. The company has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $222.00 and a 1 year high of $323.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 45.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on NSC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.83.

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.