Allworth Financial LP Takes $3.67 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Allworth Financial purchased 11,649 Norfolk Southern shares worth approximately $3.67 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a largely neutral view, with seven Buy ratings and 15 Holds; the consensus rating is Hold with a $348 price target.
• Norfolk Southern beat quarterly expectations with $3.52 in EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year. The company also pays a $1.35 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.6% yield.

Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,649 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,665,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $6,012,836,000 after purchasing an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $5,033,549,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after buying an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after buying an additional 36,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,084,701,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $347.15 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $327.49 and its 200 day moving average is $313.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 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.

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