Family Legacy Inc. Purchases New Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Family Legacy Inc. purchased 6,019 shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the railroad operator.
• Analysts remain generally cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $348, although several firms recently raised their targets. Barclays assigned the most bullish view, rating the stock “Overweight” with a $400 target.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in earnings per share and $3.46 billion in revenue, with revenue up 12.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 1.6% yield.

Family Legacy Inc. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,019 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,894,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 54,620 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $17,183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,350 shares in the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 51,112 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $14,757,000 after purchasing an additional 18,012 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NSC. Weiss Ratings raised Norfolk Southern from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $334.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $268.23 and a 1 year high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50 day moving average price is $324.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.36.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

About Norfolk Southern

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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