Johnson Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,693 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NSC. Evercore set a $358.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $345.56 on Thursday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $268.23 and a one year high of $358.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $326.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.66. The stock has a market cap of $77.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.