ProShare Advisors LLC Has $13.03 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 45,120 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,273 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.1%

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

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern 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.