Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,372 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 115,400.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,155 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 26,502 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,277,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 6.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,845 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $288.00 target price (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.50.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $300.02 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. The stock has a market cap of $67.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.33. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $282.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.10.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

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.