California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 1,520 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 415,656 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.19% of Norfolk Southern worth $119,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the first quarter worth about $3,272,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 50,620 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after buying an additional 16,720 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 138,194 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $39,899,000 after buying an additional 10,910 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 51,112 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $14,757,000 after buying an additional 18,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $308.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.35.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC opened at $340.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $314.78 and a 200 day moving average of $304.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $76.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $342.53.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is presently 45.49%.

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.