Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 1,599,203 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,599,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $503,093,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.71% of Norfolk Southern as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 6,290 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 827 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $358.00 price objective on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $352.91 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $329.08 and a 200-day moving average of $313.85. The company has a market capitalization of $79.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.23 and a 1-year high of $358.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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