State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $17.80 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,917 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 44,833 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $17,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,355 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $247.48 per share, with a total value of $494,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NSC stock opened at $254.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $239.77 and its 200-day moving average is $238.28. The stock has a market cap of $57.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.31. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. Norfolk Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

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.