MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 1.8%, selling 1,074 shares and bringing its total holdings to 58,802 shares, valued at approximately $13.9 million.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29, exceeding the consensus estimate, with revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, paid on August 20th, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 36.49%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,802 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,074 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $13,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.1%

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $5.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $278.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,031,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,221,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.43. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $291.69.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. 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 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.