Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 282,753 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 37,887 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $66,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. This represents a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $234.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 46.71%.

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.