Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 31,878 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 6.4% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 31,878 shares, bringing its total to 529,726 shares valued at approximately $135.6 million.
• Analysts are raising their price targets for Norfolk Southern, with estimates now ranging from $289 to $305, while the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Norfolk Southern recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, reflecting a payout ratio of 36.49%.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 529,726 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 31,878 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.23% of Norfolk Southern worth $135,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 61.8% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 21.8% in the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.2% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 71,645 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $16,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Susquehanna raised 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. Benchmark cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $288.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $302.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $284.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

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.

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