Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Reduces Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 75.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,000 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 6,205 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NSC. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 662.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

Norfolk Southern stock opened at $239.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern Co. has a one year low of $183.09 and a one year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.