North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $2.24 Million in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,747 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at about $329,629,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $181,995,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 463.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 783,271 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,146,000 after acquiring an additional 644,202 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 1.2%

NSC stock opened at $319.87 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 1-year low of $236.37 and a 1-year high of $323.37. The firm has a market cap of $71.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $299.56 and its 200-day moving average is $296.39. 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 (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

About Norfolk Southern

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.