Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 248,965 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 73.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 588,472 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 248,965 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $168,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,710,549 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,803,630,000 after purchasing an additional 379,819 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,878,029 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,401,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,205 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $1,084,701,000. Finally, Pentwater Capital Management LP increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 3,019,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $871,646,000 after acquiring an additional 269,000 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $358.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $331.29.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $347.70 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 50 day moving average price of $316.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.84. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.23 and a 52-week high of $358.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be 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 is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

Trending Headlines about Norfolk Southern

Here are the key news stories impacting Norfolk Southern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Norfolk Southern reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.52 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose to a record roughly $3.5 billion and increased 12.5% year over year. Article: Norfolk Southern (NSC) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to stronger freight demand, higher fuel surcharges, volume growth, and intermodal gains as key drivers of the quarter, which helped boost investor confidence in operating momentum. Article: Norfolk Southern rides freight demand, fuel surcharges to quarterly profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it achieved record quarterly revenue, and several outlets noted the stock rose as the revenue surge and earnings beat outweighed margin compression. Article: Norfolk Southern Stock Rises as Revenue Surge Offsets Margin Compression
• Neutral Sentiment: Norfolk Southern also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reinforcing shareholder returns but not changing the main earnings-driven stock move. Article: Norfolk Southern earnings report and conference call

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.