Junto Capital Management LP Sells 7,037 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Junto Capital Management LP lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,800 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 7,037 shares during the quarter. Junto Capital Management LP's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $547,575,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in 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 valued at $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,020,392 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $945,385,000 after acquiring an additional 580,293 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 293.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $157,643,000 after purchasing an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,302,635 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $308,607,000 after purchasing an additional 469,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $292.00 to $272.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $223.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $225.86 and a 200-day moving average of $242.84. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $50.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.03). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. Norfolk Southern's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

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.

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