Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 151,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $43,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.83.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC opened at $319.66 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $257.49 and a 1-year high of $326.00. The stock has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 45.49%.

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.