Advocate Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Advocate Group LLC decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,005 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,443 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 7,293 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.8% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,354 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,162,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.8% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,803 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,885,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.9% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,661 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 22.7% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,931 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.25.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.2%

NSC stock opened at $288.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $302.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $284.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.06. The stock has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

Norfolk Southern 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.