Principle Wealth Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,012,836,000 after acquiring an additional 272,651 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after purchasing an additional 379,819 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $871,646,000 after purchasing an additional 269,000 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.23 and a 52 week high of $358.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $325.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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. The stock has a market cap of $76.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.