ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 4,211 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,430 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,211 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $8,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $356,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth $12,918,000. Old North State Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 280.8% in the 1st quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 5,088 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 11,551 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $1,076,000. 72.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $210.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.40.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $204.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.65. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12 month low of $194.05 and a 12 month high of $261.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 20.25%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 3rd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 48.56%.

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.