Quantbot Technologies LP Has $853,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 92.5%, holding only 3,601 shares after selling 44,540 shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $853,000.
• Multiple hedge funds have recently bought shares in Norfolk Southern, with 75.10% of the company’s stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $285.15, while the recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates with an EPS of $3.29.

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 92.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,601 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 44,540 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 15.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,591 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $6,535,000 after acquiring an additional 3,709 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 15.1% in the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.0% in the first quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,983,620 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $706,670,000 after acquiring an additional 113,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Edge Capital LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 5.9% in the first quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Benchmark cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock traded up $5.76 on Thursday, reaching $278.11. 3,031,661 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,608,989. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $291.69. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $271.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 36.49%.

Norfolk Southern 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.