Core Alternative Capital Sells 5,834 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Core Alternative Capital reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,895 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 5,834 shares during the quarter. Core Alternative Capital's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $945,385,000 after purchasing an additional 580,293 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $259.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.48.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $262.50. 928,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,299. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $244.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. Norfolk Southern's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.