Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 6.7%, owning approximately 2,044,150 shares valued at $484 million as of the last SEC filing.
• Norfolk Southern reported quarterly earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $3.11 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 36.49%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,044,150 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 127,889 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.91% of Norfolk Southern worth $484,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after purchasing an additional 232,195 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,608,080 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $2,020,318,000 after purchasing an additional 918,559 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $983,161,000 after purchasing an additional 138,678 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $931,426,000 after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,870,443 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $673,693,000 after purchasing an additional 233,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $0.8770 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $286.4070. The stock had a trading volume of 1,126,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,779. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $268.07 and a 200-day moving average of $247.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $64.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $288.64.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 36.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $285.15.

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.