Alchemi Wealth LLC Takes $537,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Alchemi Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,858 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,825,837 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,012,836,000 after buying an additional 272,651 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,205 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $826,128,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,213,431 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $639,082,000 after acquiring an additional 33,821 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $314.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.08. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $247.85 and a 52-week high of $326.00. 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 market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NSC. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.71.

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.