Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Beacon Pointe Advisors acquired 17,809 Norfolk Southern shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the railroad operator.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $348 price target, though several firms recently raised their targets, including Barclays to $400 and Wells Fargo to $385.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.52 in EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 12.5% year over year. The company also paid a $1.35 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.5% annualized yield.

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,809 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,602,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 827 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 649 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $348.67 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $358.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $332.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.01. 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 market cap of $78.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern 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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