Aventura Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake of 3,660 shares in Norfolk Southern during Q4, valued at about $1.057 million.
• Several large institutions (e.g., Dodge & Cox, EdgePoint, Lazard, Norges Bank) have recently increased or initiated positions, and institutional investors now own approximately 75.10% of the company.
• Norfolk Southern has a market cap of about $63.22 billion, recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($3.22 vs. $2.76), pays a quarterly dividend of $1.35 (annual yield ~1.9%), and holds a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” with a price target near $308.95.

Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,660 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,057,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,779,609,000 after acquiring an additional 192,567 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,070,702,000 after purchasing an additional 184,586 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,289,431 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $841,994,000 after purchasing an additional 201,861 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $826,128,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $613,255,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $281.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $319.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $299.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an "equal weight" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.95.

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.

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