Diversify Wealth Management LLC Takes $855,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,739 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NSC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,275 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 185.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.35.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $337.98 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $314.23 and a 200 day moving average of $304.16. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $264.01 and a 52 week high of $339.77. The company has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

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.