Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 11,400 Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,400 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,272,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 93 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 239.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 95 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 669.2% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 100 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $312.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.27. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $254.18 and a fifty-two week high of $326.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.10.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $322.00 to $313.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $320.35.

About Norfolk Southern

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.