Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,923 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 883.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NSC. TD Cowen upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $296.70 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $283.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.12. The stock has a market cap of $66.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $201.63 and a 1 year high of $302.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. 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.