Man Group plc Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Man Group plc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 178,433 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $56,133,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the first quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 827 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $351.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $329.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.17. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

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.