New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 25,058 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 320,673 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 25,058 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $75,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $68,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 93.8% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,038 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the third quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,830 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $245.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $60.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.74.

About Norfolk Southern

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.