Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases New Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,827 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 423.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 110 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 184 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $290.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $201.63 and a twelve month high of $302.24.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 41.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.10.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.97 per share, for a total transaction of $466,900.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,640. The trade was a 15.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.