New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $75.80 Million Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,673 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 25,058 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.14% of Norfolk Southern worth $75,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after buying an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $83,031,000 after buying an additional 349,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

NSC stock opened at $245.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $252.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.09. The stock has a market cap of $60.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.04). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

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.