Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its ownership in Norfolk Southern Corporation by 91.1%, owning 29,814 shares worth approximately $7.06 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Norfolk Southern announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $3.24, with revenue reaching $3.11 billion, surpassing expected figures.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 91.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,814 shares of the railroad operator's stock after acquiring an additional 14,210 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $7,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after buying an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 acquiring an additional 918,559 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,968,582 shares of the railroad operator's stock worth $931,426,000 after acquiring an additional 75,865 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,870,443 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $673,693,000 after acquiring an additional 233,927 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1%

NSC traded up $0.2190 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $285.7490. The stock had a trading volume of 1,742,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,990,512. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $288.64. The company has a market capitalization of $64.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $288.00 price objective (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.