Royal Bank of Canada Has $127.44 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 37.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 444,019 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 265,633 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.20% of Norfolk Southern worth $127,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $333.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.23 and a 12-month high of $358.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.70.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio 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.