California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 18,963 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 413,260 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 18,963 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of Norfolk Southern worth $97,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $2,933,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $1,444,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 200.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 16,077 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,973,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,259 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $36,877,000 after buying an additional 16,727 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NSC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $238.00 to $302.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock opened at $236.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.12. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.33%.

About Norfolk Southern

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.