Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,438 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $23,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $244.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $60.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $252.77 and a 200-day moving average of $231.71. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

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.