Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Decreases Stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,753 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 37,887 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.12% of Norfolk Southern worth $66,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NSC stock opened at $234.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $206.71 and a 1-year high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $246.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.14. The company has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.