Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 718,365 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 75.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 234,179 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 718,365 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.10% of Norfolk Southern worth $67,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $283.74 on Wednesday. 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 $63.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.54. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $319.94.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

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.