Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $124.80 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 63.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 531,755 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 206,485 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $124,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $30,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This trade represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $238.80 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.23. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $206.71 and a fifty-two week high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 50.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.