California Public Employees Retirement System Has $116.41 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $116,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth about $613,255,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after buying an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth $329,629,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 550.6% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 983,366 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $251,712,000 after purchasing an additional 832,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $181,995,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NSC. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $299.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $354.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.95.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $290.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $65.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $300.80 and a 200-day moving average of $292.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12-month low of $201.63 and a 12-month high of $319.94.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

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

Norfolk Southern Company 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.