Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 548,054 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 17,809 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $172,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NSC opened at $323.38 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $271.88 and a 52-week high of $358.60. The stock has a market cap of $72.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $336.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major freight railroad company serving the eastern United States. Through its railway network, the company transports raw materials, intermediate goods and finished products for industrial, agricultural, manufacturing and consumer markets. Its operations connect customers with domestic markets, major ports and other rail carriers.

The company transports a diverse range of commodities, including intermodal containers, coal, automotive products, agriculture and consumer goods, chemicals, metals, forest products and construction materials.