Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Stock Holdings Lifted by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,730 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Norfolk Southern comprises about 2.3% of Skylands Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $17,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2,125.0% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 89 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $327.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1 year low of $277.80 and a 1 year high of $358.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $326.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.24. The stock has a market cap of $73.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $346.94.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) is a transportation company that operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in the eastern United States. Through its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary, the company provides rail transportation and related services across a broad territory spanning portions of the Midwest, South and East Coast, including access to major industrial centers, ports and distribution markets.

Norfolk Southern transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal freight, merchandise, automotive products, coal and other energy-related materials.