Strs Ohio Increases Stock Holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Strs Ohio lifted its position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,676 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,439 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $18,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $826,128,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 545.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,306,203 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $392,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,748 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at about $329,629,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at about $181,995,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 463.2% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 783,271 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $226,146,000 after buying an additional 644,202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $316.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $218.05 and a 52 week high of $323.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $299.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.41.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NSC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $296.00 to $292.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $320.67.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.