Platform Technology Partners Acquires Shares of 1,183 Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Platform Technology Partners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,183 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 113,648 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,463 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $16,925,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,179 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.80.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.3%

NSC traded up $3.33 on Friday, hitting $266.47. 1,718,349 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,573. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The railroad operator reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 27.40%. Norfolk Southern's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

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.