Quadrant Capital Group LLC Acquires 475 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,316 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank increased 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. 72.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $211.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.29. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $261.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.18.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 22.26%. On average, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Norfolk Southern from $279.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.15.

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.