Strategic Blueprint LLC Purchases 77 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,156 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after buying an additional 2,710,930 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $321,393,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 341.9% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 789,950 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $187,100,000 after buying an additional 611,198 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $122,256,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $110,209,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $280.29 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $285.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.87. The stock has a market cap of $62.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted 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 return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 41.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $321.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.70.

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.