California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 27,440 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 387,490 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,440 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Norfolk Southern worth $116,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NSC. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 84 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Norfolk Southern by 207.1% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 68.9% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NSC shares. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $361.00 to $368.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NSC opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $319.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $300.80 and a 200-day moving average of $292.33.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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.