Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. Invests $1.91 Million in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,081 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the first quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% during the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 827 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NSC shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. 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. Stephens raised Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $347.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $331.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.78. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced 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. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

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.