Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $13.84 Million Investment in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 58,971 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $13,840,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,200 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $63,417,000 after purchasing an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,796,000. Grandview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $918,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere acquired 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.84.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $236.46 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $244.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.86. The company has a market capitalization of $53.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.