NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth acquired 17,525 Norfolk Southern shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the railroad operator.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $348 price target; individual firms recently raised targets as high as $377.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also declared a $1.35 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.6% yield.

NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,525 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,513,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the first quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 2.0%

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $345.56 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $326.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $312.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Norfolk Southern Company 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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