Bank of New York Mellon Corp Invests $364.41 Million in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon purchased 1.16 million Norfolk Southern shares worth approximately $364.4 million, representing a 0.52% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the railroad operator.
• Norfolk Southern reported quarterly EPS of $3.52, beating estimates of $3.32, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year to $3.46 billion.
• The stock opened at $350.77, near its one-year high of $358.60. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $348, while the company pays a $1.35 quarterly dividend.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,158,377 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $364,414,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.52% of Norfolk Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $350.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $268.23 and a one year high of $358.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $328.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NSC. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $348.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source