Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 19,568 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 75.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 19,568 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $325.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $302.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $241.82 and a 52 week high of $326.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.