Keel Point LLC Has $1.45 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,382 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 95,518.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,028,232 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $746,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $537,007,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,724,821 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $671,451,000 after buying an additional 1,265,666 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 221.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,124,545 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $238,404,000 after buying an additional 775,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,546,214 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $627,438,000 after acquiring an additional 638,384 shares in the last quarter. 72.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $242.00 to $262.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $226.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.40.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NSC traded down $4.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $199.90. 336,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,419,074. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.58. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $194.05 and a 52 week high of $261.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The railroad operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.20). Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 24.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.56%.

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.