Raymond James Financial Inc. Has $109.50 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 3.1%, totaling 462,332 shares valued at approximately $109.50 million.
• Norfolk Southern recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $3.24 per share, with revenue of $3.11 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 462,332 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.21% of Norfolk Southern worth $109,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after acquiring an additional 232,195 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 918,559 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $983,161,000 after purchasing an additional 138,678 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $0.3760 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $283.9740. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,575,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,704. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $269.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.54. The company has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $291.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for 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. As a group, equities research 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is 36.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Norfolk Southern from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.