Blair William & Co. IL Has $9.71 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 5.6% during the first quarter, holding 40,993 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• Norfolk Southern's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, with reported earnings per share of $3.29, slightly above the consensus estimate of $3.24.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, payable on August 20th.

Blair William & Co. IL decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,993 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 2,442 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $9,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 304 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 956 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,644 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NSC. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $289.00 price objective (up from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $288.00 price objective (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $279.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,187,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,196,134. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.68. The stock has a market cap of $62.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $288.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

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.