Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,982 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 875 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after purchasing an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,930 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $983,161,000 after purchasing an additional 138,678 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $947,006,000 after purchasing an additional 29,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $740,891,000 after purchasing an additional 189,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $296.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.12. The company has a market cap of $66.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 27.51%. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 36.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.25.

About Norfolk Southern

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.