Aegon Asset Management UK PLC Has $2.44 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

24 Mar 2022, 13:52 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Aegon Asset Management UK PLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,192 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Aegon Asset Management UK PLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,845,669 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $917,237,000 after buying an additional 10,064 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,359,950 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $803,869,000 after buying an additional 322,892 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,042,990 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $488,785,000 after buying an additional 75,416 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,815,223 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $434,292,000 after buying an additional 26,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 185.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,568,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $384,162,000 after buying an additional 1,019,183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.91% of the company’s stock.

In other news, President Alan H. Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.70, for a total transaction of $256,700.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven F. Leer sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.51, for a total value of $185,857.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,580 shares of company stock worth $17,379,914 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $277.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.92. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $238.62 and a 52-week high of $299.20. The firm has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.28% and a net margin of 26.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.73 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 4th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Norfolk Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 3rd. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 40.92%.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $320.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $343.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 15th. Stephens cut Norfolk Southern from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $325.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile (Get Rating)

Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which owns a freight railroad. It engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest and, via interchange with rail carriers to and from the rest of the United States.

Further Reading

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