Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Position Boosted by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 10.2%, acquiring an additional 25,366 shares to own approximately 0.12% of the company worth $64.88 million.
• Norfolk Southern reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.29, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.24, with revenues of $3.11 billion compared to an expected $3.10 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.93%, with a payout ratio of 36.89%.

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 10.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 273,940 shares of the railroad operator's stock after buying an additional 25,366 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $64,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,020,318,000 after buying an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,573 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $1,098,472,000 after acquiring an additional 113,648 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $721,452,000 after acquiring an additional 371,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,870,443 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $673,693,000 after purchasing an additional 233,927 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. TD Cowen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.2%

NSC stock traded down $3.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $274.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,727,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,852,299. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.45. The company has a market capitalization of $61.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $201.63 and a 1-year high of $288.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

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.