Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Position Boosted by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,752 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $19,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 669.2% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NSC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $330.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $320.35.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NSC stock opened at $322.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52-week low of $257.49 and a 52-week high of $326.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $312.52 and its 200-day moving average is $302.00. The stock has a market cap of $72.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.27.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.49%.

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.