The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 26.1%, selling 175,233 shares during the first quarter and now owns 0.22% of the company valued at approximately $117.58 million.
• Norfolk Southern reported $3.29 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing the estimate of $3.24, and had quarterly revenue of $3.11 billion, slightly above expectations.
• The stock is currently trading at $279.88 with a 52-week range between \strong>$201.63 and $291.69 and has received an average rating of "Hold" from analysts.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 496,447 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 175,233 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.22% of Norfolk Southern worth $117,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $4,813,114,000 after acquiring an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after acquiring an additional 75,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $740,891,000 after acquiring an additional 189,076 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $288.00 price target (up previously from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven 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, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5%

NSC stock traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $279.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 213,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,603,607. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.06. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $291.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.