Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 1.0%, now owning 1,931,919 shares valued at approximately $457.57 million.
• Norfolk Southern reported earnings of $3.29 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding forecasts, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share.
• Institutional investors own 75.10% of Norfolk Southern's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company's performance.

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,931,919 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 19,433 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.86% of Norfolk Southern worth $457,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $289.00 target price (up from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $3.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $282.05. 1,520,358 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,252,115. The stock has a market cap of $63.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.15. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $288.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.