Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 122,042 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 3,873 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $36,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cinctive Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2,105.0% in the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 66,193 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $19,885,000 after buying an additional 63,191 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $291,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 6,571 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 387,490 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $116,406,000 after purchasing an additional 27,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 644.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 170,917 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $51,345,000 after purchasing an additional 147,963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Argus raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:NSC opened at $289.25 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $319.94. The stock has a market cap of $64.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $300.74 and a 200-day moving average of $292.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.