Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 2,345 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,373 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $5,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,561,273 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,263,069,000 after buying an additional 239,914 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,859,121 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,779,609,000 after purchasing an additional 192,567 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,822,075 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,228,064,000 after purchasing an additional 36,362 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,182,921 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,070,702,000 after purchasing an additional 184,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,289,431 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $841,994,000 after purchasing an additional 201,861 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $317.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $293.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $294.79 per share, with a total value of $60,137.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 405 shares in the company, valued at $119,389.95. The trade was a 101.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $316.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $319.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 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.