Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 311,720 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 9,522 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $89,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $351.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $336.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $318.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.23 and a 12 month high of $358.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 21.02%.The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

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.