Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 3.9%, now owning approximately 2,983,620 shares valued at $706.67 million.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and will pay a $1.35 quarterly dividend with a yield of 1.9%.
• The stock, currently trading at $279.80, has a market capitalization of $62.85 billion with a consensus target price set at $285.15 by analysts.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,983,620 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 113,177 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.32% of Norfolk Southern worth $706,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in 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 grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.9% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in 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. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in 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. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC traded down $0.3760 on Friday, reaching $283.9740. 4,575,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,583,704. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $291.69. The firm has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.31. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.54.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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