Perigon Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Perigon Wealth Management 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 11,830 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,721,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter worth about $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,837,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Finally, PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 29.2% during the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 54,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $17,183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NSC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $325.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.88. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $358.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for 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%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.