Cibc World Market Inc. Buys Shares of 13,308 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Cibc World Market Inc. bought 13,308 Norfolk Southern shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.19 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of NSC.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $348, though Barclays and Wells Fargo recently raised their targets and maintained overweight ratings.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in adjusted EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 1.5% yield.

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in 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 (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,308 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,187,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $3,669,000. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $13,837,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,376,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $363.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $351.73 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $329.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.23 and a 52 week high of $358.60. The firm has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 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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