Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 5,616 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 31.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,715 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,616 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $6,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $329,629,000. Finally, HBK Investments L P lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 2,130,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $614,974,000 after buying an additional 860,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $340.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $314.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.41. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $342.53. The firm has a market cap of $76.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. 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 presently 45.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $325.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.35.

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.