KFA Private Wealth Group LLC Invests $557,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• KFA Private Wealth Group LLC has invested $557,000 to acquire 2,175 shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in Q2, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported a quarterly EPS of $3.29, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend of $1.35 per share, highlighting its strong financial performance.
• Research analysts have mixed views on NSC; while some upgraded their rating, others downgraded it, with the average rating currently at "Hold" and a price target of $293.25.

KFA Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,175 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,813,114,000 after purchasing an additional 232,195 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $947,006,000 after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $740,891,000 after acquiring an additional 189,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Benchmark downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE NSC opened at $288.34 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $284.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.90. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS 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 business 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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