Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,951 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,430 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $24,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,877,000 after purchasing an additional 16,727 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $232.07 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $248.82 and its 200 day moving average is $234.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $52.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern 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.