Kelman Lazarov Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,766 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Kelman Lazarov Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,766 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,837,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $1,376,000. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 16,720 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $345.56 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $268.23 and a 1 year high of $358.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $326.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.