Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,854 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NSC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $2,680,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,930 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $321,393,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 341.9% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 789,950 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $187,100,000 after acquiring an additional 611,198 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $122,256,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $110,209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $288.34 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $302.24. The stock has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.33. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $284.20 and a 200 day moving average of $258.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $0.05. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 36.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.