Capital Fund Management S.A. Increases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 152.4% during the 1st quarter, now owning 43,456 shares valued at approximately $10.29 million.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, along with a revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 152.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,456 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 26,238 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Credit Agricole S A grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 16.6% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 69,617 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $16,489,000 after acquiring an additional 9,922 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 5,395 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,684 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,591 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $6,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,709 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 15.1% in the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock traded down $2.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $274.40. 369,056 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,586,698. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $291.69. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $271.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.09. The company has a market cap of $61.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share 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 $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. 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

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. UBS Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern 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.