Wills Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC)

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation by purchasing 6,286 shares valued at approximately $1,489,000 during the first quarter.
• Norfolk Southern recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, which will be paid on August 20th, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.40 and a yield of 2.0%.
• The company reported an EPS of $3.29 in its last quarterly earnings, surpassing expectations and contributing to a strong net margin of 27.51%.

Wills Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,286 shares of the railroad operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,489,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,882 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $5,605,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $339,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,274,000. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the railroad operator's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark lowered Norfolk Southern from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $288.00 price target (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $279.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,187,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,435. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $262.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.44. The company has a market cap of $62.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $288.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Norfolk Southern Company 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.