State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $21.94 Million Stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,001 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $21,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 207.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $315.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $299.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $218.05 and a 12 month high of $323.37. The company has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 21.91%.The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $320.67.

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.