Carnegie Investment Counsel Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 117,923 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,380 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $30,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.80.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $283.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

Norfolk Southern 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.