Royal Bank of Canada Has $127.92 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 31.1%, now owning approximately 540,092 shares valued at about $127.9 million after selling 243,833 shares in Q1.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported earnings of $3.29 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.24 EPS, with revenues of $3.11 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, with a payout ratio of 36.49%.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 540,092 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 243,833 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.24% of Norfolk Southern worth $127,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the first quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $1,196,000. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth $317,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 22,469 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 183.5% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,515 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark cut Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $277.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,302,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,946. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $291.69. The company has a market capitalization of $62.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $274.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.36.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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