Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 1.7% in the first quarter, owning 82,813 shares worth approximately $19.6 million.
• Norfolk Southern reported $3.29 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and set its FY 2025 guidance at 13 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 with a yield of 1.9%, while its dividend payout ratio stands at 36.49%.

Comerica Bank decreased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,813 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 1,394 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $19,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 26.6% in the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,342 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.3% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 30,045 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $7,117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 91.3% in the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 616,384 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $145,991,000 after purchasing an additional 294,182 shares during the period. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NSC. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark downgraded Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded up $5.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $278.11. 3,031,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,221,313. The business's 50 day moving average price is $272.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.43. 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 company has a market capitalization of $62.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.31. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 36.49%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.