PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab Boosts Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab grew its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 29.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 12,350 shares during the quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $17,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Financial LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $261,000. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,124 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,241,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,699 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $334.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $75.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.66. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.6 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

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.