Conning Inc. Sells 66 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,728 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 66 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $321,393,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 341.9% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 611,198 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $122,256,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $110,209,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:NSC opened at $288.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Susquehanna increased their target price 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. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.25.

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.