Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $27.39 Million Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,481 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,106 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $27,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Norfolk Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

NSC stock traded up $2.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $249.60. 1,451,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,315,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $56.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.61. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $183.09 and a 1-year high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 19.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Claude E. Elkins sold 8,329 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $1,902,593.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.24.

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.