Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Stock Holdings Boosted by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,428 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,763 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $11,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 79,305 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $19,468,000 after acquiring an additional 8,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC opened at $241.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1 year low of $206.71 and a 1 year high of $277.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $245.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.77.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,580,979.50. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.