Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC - Free Report) by 1,840.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 355,152 shares of the railroad operator's stock after purchasing an additional 336,845 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.16% of Norfolk Southern worth $88,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $289.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Norfolk Southern from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.68.

Insider Transactions at Norfolk Southern

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $255.00 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total transaction of $13,138,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC traded down $0.71 on Thursday, reaching $275.38. The company had a trading volume of 626,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,665. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The company has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.87.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern's payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

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.