Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,329 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $983,161,000 after acquiring an additional 138,678 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $947,006,000 after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $740,891,000 after acquiring an additional 189,076 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Baird R W raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3%

NSC stock opened at $274.90 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $291.69. The company has a market capitalization of $61.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $276.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

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.