Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases New Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 85,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $26,740,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $351.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.17. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

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.