National Pension Service Increases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

National Pension Service raised its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 441,597 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,785 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.20% of Norfolk Southern worth $104,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,073,839 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $605,331,000 after purchasing an additional 26,686 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,385,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $469,764,000 after buying an additional 73,149 shares during the period. Finally, London Co. of Virginia boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 3.0 %

NSC stock traded down $6.88 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $225.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,016,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,282. The firm has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NSC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.