Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,904 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,813,114,000 after buying an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the 1st 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. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $947,006,000 after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $740,891,000 after acquiring an additional 189,076 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $288.00 target price (up from $282.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $289.00 target price (up from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE NSC opened at $278.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $291.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $276.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.82.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.