Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 72.0% during the second quarter, owning approximately 0.22% of the company worth $126.29 million after acquiring over 206,000 shares.
• Norfolk Southern reported earnings of $3.29 per share, beating analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue of $3.11 billion, exceeding forecasts of $3.10 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, which gives an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 36.49%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 72.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 493,378 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 206,560 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.22% of Norfolk Southern worth $126,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $16,925,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 115,417 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $27,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $283.94. 2,712,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,921,810. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $277.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%.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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $289.00 target price (up from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $288.00 price target (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $286.25.

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.