62,121 Shares in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Acquired by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 62,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $14,580,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,875 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,205,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $1,346,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 34.4% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,830 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 47.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,457 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.74.

Insider Activity

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $220.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $243.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.