Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 15.1%, now owning 16,301 shares valued at approximately $3.86 million.
• Norfolk Southern Corporation reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $3.11 billion for the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, set to be paid on August 20th.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,301 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,141 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $3,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after acquiring an additional 232,195 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $931,426,000 after acquiring an additional 75,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $740,891,000 after acquiring an additional 189,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NSC traded down $0.3760 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.9740. The company had a trading volume of 4,575,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,818,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $270.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.75. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $291.69. The company has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark downgraded Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $288.00 price target (up previously from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

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.