D.B. Root & Company LLC Invests $240,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• D.B. Root & Company LLC has made a new investment of $240,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation, purchasing 1,013 shares of the railroad operator's stock.
• Norfolk Southern reported $3.29 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and generating revenue of $3.11 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, representing a 1.9% yield on an annualized basis, with a payout ratio of 36.49%.

D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,013 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,680,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $122,256,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares during the period. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $110,209,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $288.00 price target (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded down $4.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $272.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,500,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,596,818. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $291.69. The company has a market cap of $61.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.31.

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 net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.