Boston Partners Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Boston Partners cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,754,887 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 404,183 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises 1.1% of Boston Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Boston Partners’ holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $963,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $597,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 682.1% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 56,012 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after purchasing an additional 48,850 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.4% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 116,795 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,896,000 after purchasing an additional 10,990 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 529,726 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $135,610,000 after purchasing an additional 31,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 76,057 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $19,468,000 after buying an additional 3,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson acquired 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $281.86 per share, for a total transaction of $732,836.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,020. The trade was a 59.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,640. This represents a 15.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $286.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. The company has a market cap of $64.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.