Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 3,127 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 21st, 2023

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,036 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,127 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $25,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18.3% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,647,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,603,203,000 after buying an additional 1,181,936 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,295,294 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $481,323,000 after buying an additional 24,172 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.9% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,462,496 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $306,613,000 after buying an additional 27,419 shares during the period. Gibson Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Gibson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,430,667 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $338,456,000 after buying an additional 1,407,958 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 63.2% during the third quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,324,376 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $277,655,000 after purchasing an additional 512,626 shares in the last quarter. 72.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $217.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $196.33 and a fifty-two week high of $264.22.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The railroad operator reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.17. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 25.76% and a net margin of 23.40%. The business had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 4th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NSC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $258.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Cowen raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $256.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $240.04.

About Norfolk Southern

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.