M&T Bank Corp Acquires 644,202 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 463.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 783,271 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 644,202 shares during the quarter. Norfolk Southern makes up about 0.7% of M&T Bank Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. M&T Bank Corp owned about 0.35% of Norfolk Southern worth $226,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $329,629,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at $181,995,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $184,752,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $302.12 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $217.33 and a 52-week high of $319.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.75 and its 200 day moving average is $293.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 42.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.78.

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.