State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Acquires 2,046 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,224 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,046 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $23,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NSC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Norfolk Southern by 40.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,447 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $327,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 19,598 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,434 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In related news, EVP Anil Bhatt sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.60, for a total value of $253,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,900.80. This represents a 38.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Jr. Clyburn purchased 204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $294.79 per share, for a total transaction of $60,137.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,389.95. This trade represents a 101.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NSC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $347.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $298.00 to $299.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research cut Norfolk Southern from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.47.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $315.13 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 52 week low of $201.63 and a 52 week high of $319.94. The company has a market capitalization of $70.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.46. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.35%.

Norfolk Southern 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.