Truist Financial Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its Norfolk Southern stake by 3.0% in Q4 to 225,411 shares (about 0.10% of the company) valued at $65.08 million.
• Other large institutional moves included Pentwater opening a roughly $826 million position, UBS AM adding 1.1 million shares (up 545.2%), and M&T Bank boosting its stake 463.2% to 783,271 shares, with institutions owning 75.10% of NSC.
• Norfolk Southern beat EPS estimates ($2.65 vs. $2.49) but slightly missed revenue, announced a $1.35 quarterly dividend (annualized $5.40, 1.7% yield), and has an average analyst rating of Hold with a $320.67 price target.

Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,411 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 6,629 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Norfolk Southern worth $65,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,103,748 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $329,629,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth $181,995,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 463.2% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 783,271 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $226,146,000 after buying an additional 644,202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:NSC opened at $311.52 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.64 and a 200 day moving average of $294.41. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $218.05 and a 52 week high of $323.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $320.67.

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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