Dearborn Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $352.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $79.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $329.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.23 and a 52-week high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.