Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,528 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,528 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Norfolk Southern by 669.2% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NSC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $327.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.35.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $337.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $314.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.16. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $264.01 and a 1 year high of $339.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

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.