86,455 Shares in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 86,455 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $27,198,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the second quarter worth about $5,033,549,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,084,701,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter worth approximately $978,977,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $826,128,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $503,093,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NSC. Stephens upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $363.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $337.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $348.00.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2%

NSC stock opened at $348.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.23 and a twelve month high of $358.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $332.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.01.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

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.