National Bank of Canada FI Buys 38,203 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 27.4% in Q1, acquiring a total of 177,441 shares valued at approximately $42 million.
• Norfolk Southern's recent earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $3.29 EPS against an expected $3.24, with total revenue of $3.11 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9%, to be paid on August 20th.

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,441 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 38,203 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $42,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $234,433,000 after buying an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 293.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $110,209,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,870,443 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $673,693,000 after purchasing an additional 233,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $282.05. 1,520,358 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,555,256. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $288.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $264.83 and a 200 day moving average of $246.15. 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 company has a market cap of $63.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $289.00 target price (up from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.