Aberdeen Group plc Has $134.10 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Aberdeen Group plc cut its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 447,556 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 82,170 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.20% of Norfolk Southern worth $134,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,455,000 after purchasing an additional 29,264 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 682.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 56,012 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,337,000 after buying an additional 48,850 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 8.5% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $77,055,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director William Jr. Clyburn acquired 204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total transaction of $253,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,900.80. The trade was a 38.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NSC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NSC opened at $315.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $319.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $293.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

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.