Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Takes $872,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 3,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $872,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $4,813,114,000 after acquiring an additional 232,195 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in 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 Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in 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 Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in 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 Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in 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. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE NSC opened at $288.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $284.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.21. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $201.63 and a 52-week high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 36.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.