Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 293.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,624 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,179 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $614,974,000 after purchasing an additional 860,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $327.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.71.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $299.81 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. The firm has a market cap of $67.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $309.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.62. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $251.62 and a 1-year high of $326.00.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.49%.

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.