Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $254,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has invested approximately $254,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation, acquiring 993 shares during the second quarter.
• Norfolk Southern's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with seven analysts rating it as a Buy and fourteen as a Hold, and the average target price set at $288.45.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29, exceeding the consensus estimate, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, yielding 1.8% annually.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 993 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark lowered Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $288.45.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $297.61 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $298.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $280.68 and its 200-day moving average is $253.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $66.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company 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. Equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.