Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Sells 33,486 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec significantly reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 81.8%, selling 33,486 shares and holding only 7,470 shares valued at approximately $1.77 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with Barclays raising their price target to $300 while TD Cowen upgraded their rating from "hold" to "buy" and increased the target price to $323.
• Norfolk Southern Corporation recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, yielding 1.9%, with a payout ratio of 36.49%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 81.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,470 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 33,486 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $288.00 target price (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $277.53 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $291.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $274.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.36.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid 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 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's 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.

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