UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Purchases Shares of 4,633 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,633 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,457,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.9%

NSC stock opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $268.23 and a fifty-two week high of $358.60. The company has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $325.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.88. 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 released 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 return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 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.