New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,119 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 5,650 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Norfolk Southern worth $44,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 25,181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 893,459 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $222,025,000 after purchasing an additional 889,925 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,206 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at about $13,627,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $276.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.16.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $252.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $187.75 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The firm has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $249.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.98.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern 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.