First Bancorp Inc ME Invests $618,000 in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,965 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 0.4%

NSC opened at $351.73 on Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $329.90 and a 200-day moving average of $314.17. The stock has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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 business 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 for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.