State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,223 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 76,001 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $21,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 13,000.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,668 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 31.8% in the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 121,351 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $36,455,000 after buying an additional 29,264 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.5% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 256,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $77,055,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $24,033,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $2,165,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NSC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $320.67.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $315.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $218.05 and a one year high of $323.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $299.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend 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.