Hara Capital LLC Makes New $604,000 Investment in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,920 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $691,000. Cannon Wealth Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $277,000. MJP Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $326,000. PCM Encore LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,002,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.4%

NSC stock opened at $347.15 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.23 and a 52-week high of $358.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.