Great Lakes Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 8.9%, holding 10,603 shares worth approximately $2.5 million as of the latest filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC and Kestra Investment Management LLC, adjusted their stakes, with some increasing holdings significantly.
• Norfolk Southern reported $3.29 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35, with a current yield of 2.0%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,603 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,033 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.6% in the first quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,977 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $616,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,879 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1,537.9% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,150 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,299,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $272.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $291.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $275.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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