Baxter Bros Inc. Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Baxter Bros Inc. acquired 15,705 Norfolk Southern shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.94 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the railroad operator.
• Analysts raised several price targets, with targets ranging from $355 to $400, but the consensus rating remains “Hold” with an average target price of $348.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 12.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 1.6% annualized yield.

Baxter Bros Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,705 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,941,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $334.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 5.92 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 quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $324.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.52.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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