Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors purchased 37,161 shares of Norfolk Southern worth approximately $11.7 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75.1% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with seven Buy ratings and 15 Holds; the consensus price target is $348, below the stock’s reported $350.77 opening price.
• Norfolk Southern exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.52 in EPS and $3.46 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, yielding about 1.5% annually.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 37,161 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $11,691,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the first quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 827 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $350.77 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $328.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.47. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $358.60. The firm has a market cap of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.Norfolk Southern's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.

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