Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,447 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Osterweis Capital Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 92.7%, selling 7,447 shares and now holding only 586 shares valued at $139,000.
• Norfolk Southern reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.29, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.24, and generated revenue of $3.11 billion, slightly above analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 36.49%.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 92.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 586 shares of the railroad operator's stock after selling 7,447 shares during the quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $13,724,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 7,956 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 115,417 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $27,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5%

NSC stock opened at $273.81 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $275.88 and a 200-day moving average of $250.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $291.69.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. Citigroup upped 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 boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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