Centric Wealth Management Takes $843,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Centric Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,704 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $334.69 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $324.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.36. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 5.92 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NSC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern 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.