Great Lakes Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 3,320 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $25,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $350.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.23 and a 52 week high of $358.60. The stock has a market cap of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 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, 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 prior year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NSC. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

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.