Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC Holdings Trimmed by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,376 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $12,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,321,359 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,813,114,000 after buying an additional 232,195 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 31.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,319,010 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,680,910,000 after buying an additional 2,710,930 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 3.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,159,070 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $983,161,000 after buying an additional 138,678 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,998,335 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $947,006,000 after buying an additional 29,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,128,102 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $740,891,000 after purchasing an additional 189,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Richard H. Anderson purchased 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This trade represents a 59.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $283.91 on Friday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a one year low of $201.63 and a one year high of $302.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $285.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.06.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 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, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $316.00 to $307.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.70.

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.