OneAscent Financial Services LLC Takes $613,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,950 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter valued at $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 worth $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $13,837,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,376,000. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 49.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $363.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $347.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.05. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $77.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.