Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $4.12 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Norfolk Southern stake by 21.6% in the first quarter, leaving it with 14,339 shares valued at approximately $4.12 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.1% of the company.
• Analysts raised several price targets, with the consensus target at $348 and an overall “Hold” rating; Wells Fargo was more bullish with an “Overweight” rating and a $385 target.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 1.6% annualized yield.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,339 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 3,941 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE NSC opened at $341.85 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The stock has a market cap of $76.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern 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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