Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Holdings Lifted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 531,755 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 206,485 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.24% of Norfolk Southern worth $124,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4,336.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 4,814 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 601,343 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $129,102,000 after purchasing an additional 86,726 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,608 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 464,800 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $99,788,000 after buying an additional 25,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,011,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $238.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.23. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.70%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.