Haverford Trust Co Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Haverford Trust Co acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,395 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,899,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NSC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $5,033,549,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $1,084,701,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $826,128,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $364,414,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $356,558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.2%

NSC stock opened at $350.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The company has a market cap of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $328.23 and a 200-day moving average of $313.31.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

About Norfolk Southern

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.