Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 361,908 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,088 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $104,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,455,000 after acquiring an additional 29,264 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth $24,033,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.5% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $77,055,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $2,165,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 250,186 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $75,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $311.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $300.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.87. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $236.37 and a 52 week high of $323.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $327.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.83.

About Norfolk Southern

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.