Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 1,075 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,466 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $547,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 25,555.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 989,796 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $234,433,000 after acquiring an additional 985,938 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,020,318,000 after acquiring an additional 918,559 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 293.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 671,680 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $157,643,000 after acquiring an additional 501,053 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,073,933 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $721,452,000 after acquiring an additional 371,589 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $258.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $269.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.80.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $260.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.40% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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