One68 Global Capital LLC Takes $2.19 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

One68 Global Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,000. Norfolk Southern accounts for about 4.6% of One68 Global Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $358.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $347.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $331.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.