Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 69.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 490,103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 200,801 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.22% of Norfolk Southern worth $147,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NSC. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 13,000.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,455,000 after purchasing an additional 29,264 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $77,055,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,033,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,165,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE NSC opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $300.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $65.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31.

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 business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $304.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.95.

About Norfolk Southern

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.