Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,406 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 10,456 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern comprises about 1.4% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Norfolk Southern worth $45,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bienville Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Bienville Capital Management LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Utah Retirement Systems increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 37,512 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $8,804,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,955 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $14,306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.10.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock traded down $3.43 on Tuesday, reaching $218.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,200. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The stock has a market cap of $49.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.69.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.