Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Takes $1.50 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,783 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,505,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $5,033,549,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,803,630,000 after purchasing an additional 379,819 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,084,701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $358.00 target price on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $345.56 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.23 and a 12-month high of $358.60. The stock has a market cap of $77.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $326.76 and a 200 day moving average of $312.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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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