Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,346 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 22.6% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 2,118 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 50.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,301 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 10.6% during the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 13,577 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% during the first quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,196,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $277.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $62.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $291.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 36.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.15.

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.