Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $466.86 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,626,688 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,703 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.72% of Norfolk Southern worth $466,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 5.1%

NYSE:NSC opened at $347.70 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $268.23 and a one year high of $358.60. The company has a market cap of $78.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $316.67 and a 200-day moving average of $305.84.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $327.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $335.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $331.29.

Norfolk Southern News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Norfolk Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.52 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose to a record roughly $3.5 billion and increased 12.5% year over year. Article: Norfolk Southern (NSC) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to stronger freight demand, higher fuel surcharges, volume growth, and intermodal gains as key drivers of the quarter, which helped boost investor confidence in operating momentum. Article: Norfolk Southern rides freight demand, fuel surcharges to quarterly profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it achieved record quarterly revenue, and several outlets noted the stock rose as the revenue surge and earnings beat outweighed margin compression. Article: Norfolk Southern Stock Rises as Revenue Surge Offsets Margin Compression
• Neutral Sentiment: Norfolk Southern also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reinforcing shareholder returns but not changing the main earnings-driven stock move. Article: Norfolk Southern earnings report and conference call

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.