Oakworth Capital Inc. Trims Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Oakworth Capital Inc. cut its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,115 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after purchasing an additional 232,195 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $983,161,000 after purchasing an additional 138,678 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $947,006,000 after buying an additional 29,753 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $740,891,000 after buying an additional 189,076 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $297.61 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $298.42. The company has a market capitalization of $66.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $280.68 and a 200 day moving average of $253.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 36.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $235.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $278.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.45.

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.