Clarius Group LLC Acquires 206 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 143.5% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 112 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on NSC shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $223.00 to $201.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $208.09. The stock had a trading volume of 239,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,527. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $197.48 and a 200-day moving average of $211.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $47.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $261.71.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.74 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 22.26% and a net margin of 16.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 59.21%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.