Trust Co. of Vermont Acquires Shares of 29,400 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $9,249,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NSC. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.9%

NSC stock opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $268.23 and a one year high of $358.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $325.50 and a 200-day moving average of $311.88.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

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.