Principle Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 10,519 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,519 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $170,926,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,237,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,713,000. AMG National Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,497,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $4,356,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.23 and a 12-month high of $358.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

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.