South Dakota Investment Council Has $10.51 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,465 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $10,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $389,305,000 after purchasing an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $83,031,000 after purchasing an additional 349,778 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,699,371,000 after purchasing an additional 264,031 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NSC. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Norfolk Southern has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.74.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NSC traded down $9.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $235.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,769,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,089. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $252.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $183.09 and a 52-week high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The railroad operator reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 15.03% and a return on equity of 21.06%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.33%.

Norfolk Southern Company 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.